NASA spacecraft \`touches\` the Sun for the first time ever
A NASA spacecraft has entered a previously unexplored region of the Solar System the Sun s outer atmosphere_ or corona. The long-awaited milestone_ which happened in April but was announced on 14 December_ is a major accomplishment for the Parker Solar Probe_ a craft that is flying closer to the Sun than any mission in history.
We have finally arrived_ said Nicola Fox_ director of NASA s heliophysics division_ located at the agency s headquarters in Washington DC. Humanity has touched the Sun.
Scientists said it took a few months to get the data back and then several more months to confirm.
Fascinatingly exciting_ said project scientist Nour Raouafi of Johns Hopkins University.
Launched in 2018_ Parker was 13 million kilometres from the centre of the sun when it first crossed the jagged_ uneven boundary between the solar atmosphere and outgoing solar wind. The spacecraft dipped in and out of the corona at least three times_ each a smooth transition_ according to scientists.
The first and most dramatic time we were below for about five hours ... Now you might think five hours_ that doesn t sound big_ the University of Michigan s Justin Kasper told reporters. But he noted that Parker was moving so fast it covered a vast distance during that time_ tearing along at more than 100km per second.
The corona appeared dustier than expected_ according to Raouafi. Future coronal excursions will help scientists better understand the origin of the solar wind_ he said_ and how it is heated and accelerated out into space. Because the sun lacks a solid surface_ the corona is where the action is; exploring this magnetically intense region up close can help scientists better understand solar outbursts that can interfere with life here on Earth.
Preliminary data suggest Parker also dipped into the corona during its ninth close approach in August_ but scientists said more analyses are needed. It made its 10th close approach last month.
Parker will keep drawing ever closer to the sun and diving deeper into the corona until its grand finale orbit in 2025.
The latest findings were also published by the American Physical Society.
.png "Advertisement")
