Cape Canaveral: A nasa spacecraft have officially “touched” Sunday, known as the corona, is sinking through the unexplored solar atmosphere.
Scientists announced the news on Tuesday during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Parker Solar Probe It actually flew through the corona during the spacecraft’s eighth close to the Sun in April. Scientists said it took a few months to get the data back and then several months to confirm.
“Charmingly exciting,” said project scientist Noor Roufi of Johns Hopkins University.
Launched in 2018 parker It was 8 million miles (13 million kilometers) away from the Sun’s center when it first crossed the jagged, uneven boundary between the solar atmosphere and the outgoing solar wind. According to the scientists, the spacecraft fell in and out of the corona at least three times, each a spontaneous transition.
Justin Casper of the University of Michigan told reporters, “The first and most dramatic time we were down about five hours… now you might think five hours, it doesn’t seem big.” But he noted that Parker was moving so fast that during that time he covered a vast distance, tearing at more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) per second.
According to Raufee, the corona appeared dustier than expected. Future coronal excursions will help scientists better understand the origins of the solar wind, he said, and how it is heated and accelerated in space. Because the Sun lacks a solid surface, where action takes place there is a corona; Exploring this magnetically intense region up close could help scientists better understand solar eruptions that can interfere with life here on Earth.
Preliminary data suggest that Parker also sank into the corona during its ninth close approach in August, but scientists said more analysis is needed. It made its 10th close approach last month.
Parker will continue to get closer to the Sun and dive deeper into the corona until its grand finale orbit in 2025.
The latest findings were also published by the American Physical Society.
Scientists announced the news on Tuesday during a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
Parker Solar Probe It actually flew through the corona during the spacecraft’s eighth close to the Sun in April. Scientists said it took a few months to get the data back and then several months to confirm.
“Charmingly exciting,” said project scientist Noor Roufi of Johns Hopkins University.
Launched in 2018 parker It was 8 million miles (13 million kilometers) away from the Sun’s center when it first crossed the jagged, uneven boundary between the solar atmosphere and the outgoing solar wind. According to the scientists, the spacecraft fell in and out of the corona at least three times, each a spontaneous transition.
Justin Casper of the University of Michigan told reporters, “The first and most dramatic time we were down about five hours… now you might think five hours, it doesn’t seem big.” But he noted that Parker was moving so fast that during that time he covered a vast distance, tearing at more than 62 miles (100 kilometers) per second.
According to Raufee, the corona appeared dustier than expected. Future coronal excursions will help scientists better understand the origins of the solar wind, he said, and how it is heated and accelerated in space. Because the Sun lacks a solid surface, where action takes place there is a corona; Exploring this magnetically intense region up close could help scientists better understand solar eruptions that can interfere with life here on Earth.
Preliminary data suggest that Parker also sank into the corona during its ninth close approach in August, but scientists said more analysis is needed. It made its 10th close approach last month.
Parker will continue to get closer to the Sun and dive deeper into the corona until its grand finale orbit in 2025.
The latest findings were also published by the American Physical Society.
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