In this 2018 release document provided by NASA, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket prepares to launch with the Parker Solar Probe on board.
Bill Ingalls / NASA / NASA via Getty Images
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Bill Ingalls / NASA / NASA via Getty Images
In this 2018 release document provided by NASA, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket prepares to launch with the Parker Solar Probe on board.
Bill Ingalls / NASA / NASA via Getty Images
Three years after its debut, Parker Solar Probe finally “touched” the sun.
In April, the probe became the first known spacecraft to fly into the upper atmosphere of our nearest star – known as the corona – where it sampled particles and magnetic fields, NASA announced on Tuesday.
“This important milestone not only provides us with deeper insights into the evolution of the Sun and [its] impact on our solar system, but everything we learn about our own stars also teaches us more about the stars in the rest of the universe,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, deputy administrator of the Board. NASA Science Mission Director, said in a press release.
Officials say Parker’s journey into the sun’s atmosphere is intended to make discoveries that were previously impossible.
And it happened: NASA scientists used Parker to conclude that some of the zigzag magnetism in the solar wind, known as “reverse conversion,” originates from the sun’s surface. In turn, the solar wind affects the conditions on Earth.
According to NASA, Parker’s maiden voyage across the corona, which lasted several hours, was just one of many planned for the mission. The next flight is expected to happen in January.
On April 28, Parker passed the critical surface of Alfvén, where the solar wind ends and the sun’s atmosphere begins, the space agency said.
The solar probe can travel very close to the sun — about 6.5 million miles at one point — because it’s built to withstand temperatures of more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Because the solar wind blowing from the sun’s atmosphere can reach Earth, scientists say learning more about that and other solar phenomena that occur 93 million miles away will help them predicts extreme space weather events that could affect telecommunications on our planet and damage satellites.
A version of this story originally appeared inside Morning version live blogs.
