The Parker Solar Probe is on its way to the Sun to perform a mission that will greatly improve our knowledge of the solar system. It’s designed to get closer to the surface of the Sun than any other spacecraft.
The Parker Solar probe performed its 14th close approach to the Sun on December 6. It managed to get close to within 5.3 million miles of the solar surface, the closes any spacecraft could ever get.
On December 11, the Parker Solar probe made its closest approach to the Sun. It occurred at 8:31 am EST. During its journey, it managed to achieve a speed of over 350,639 miles per hour. It’s also the fastest object in history that’s been made by humans. This is less than the record speed of 364,660 mph set by Parker on November 21, 2021.
The probe flew through a powerful flare from the Sun’s corona on September 5. As the solar maximum activity increases, scientists expect that Parker will encounter more extreme solar phenomena. The Parker Solar probe carries four science instruments. These include the SWEAP, WISPR, ISIS, and FIELDS.
Ever since humans first saw the Sun, they have been fascinated by its mysterious nature. Through the Parker Solar probe, scientists hope to gain a deeper understanding of the star.
The Parker Solar probe is making it’s way closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft.
Here are five discoveries by the Parker Solar probe.
It has been known that the universe is full of cosmic dust. Through its observations, the Parker Solar probe was able to determine that the dust particles are currently in a dust-free zone around the Sun.
Parker detected a strange phenomenon when it came to the Sun’s magnetic field lines. These lines appear to flip in a whip-like manner, and they sometimes appear in clusters.
It has been theorized that solar wind is produced in spurts or continuous flow. Through its observations and discoveries, scientists have now discovered that the solar wind is actually irregular and rough in texture.
Parker was able to determine that the solar wind’s transition point is located in the corona. This is the outermost layer of the Sun.
During its first two orbits, the Sun has been quiet. However, during its third orbit, Parker was able to spot several small solar particle events. These were the first time that these events have been observed.