NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has completed another close flyby of the Sun to learn how our nearby star works. It was Parker’s 11th approach to the sun, coming within 5.3 million miles (8.5 million kilometers) of a near-perfect ball of hot plasma. By comparison, the distance is about 14 times smaller than the closest planet to the sun, Mercury. At that distance, the probe experienced temperatures in excess of 760 degrees Celsius, NASA said. Parker moved closest at more than 580,000 kilometers per hour, equaling the previous records for the fastest and closest object to the sun.
Parker launched in August 2018 to study the sun’s outer atmosphere. It has four different kits to learn more about how the corona works and how it affects the weather near our planet, including through coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Charged particles with CMEs emitted by the sun hit our energy infrastructure and satellites. On the other hand, these solar events can also produce colorful displays in the sky called auroras. Astronomers are also interested in the sun’s corona. Here, the stream of charged particles is suddenly accelerated.
“Today, Parker Solar Probe completed its 11th approach to the Sun, coming within 5.3 million miles of the Sun. At that distance, the spacecraft experienced temperatures in excess of 1400°F,” NASA tweeted.
“The close approach, also known as perihelion, occurred at 10:36 a.m. ET when the spacecraft traveled at more than 360,000 mph, matching previous records for the fastest and closest objects to the sun,” the paper said. The agency said in a second tweet.
The Parker Solar Probe is designed to repeatedly pass the Sun at a staggering speed of over 500,000 km/h, getting closer and closer to get in and out quickly and avoid thermal damage.
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