The sun is revealing itself in dramatic detail and shedding light on how other stars may form and behave throughout the universe all thanks to nasa s parker solar probe.
Nasa parker solar probe blog.
Parker solar probe began its fourth solar encounter on jan.
Nasa s parker solar probe will be the first ever mission to touch the sun.
It will reach perihelion its closest distance to our star during this orbit on jan.
This latest data captured by the spacecraft s four instrument suites spans parker solar probe s fourth orbit around the sun including its.
A scientific mission to unlock the mysteries of the sun s corona and solar wind.
A spacecraft that uses breakthrough technology and autonomy to endure heat and radiation like no other mission.
At the time of perihelion the spacecraft was about 15 million miles from the sun s surface traveling at more than 213 200 miles per hour.
On may 9 2020 nasa s parker solar probe began its longest observation campaign to date.
Est at a distance of about 23 3 million miles from the sun s surface.
A unique solar observatory that will orbit within 4 million miles of our star s surface to directly study the formation of the solar wind.
The release includes science data from all four of parker solar probe s instrument suites spanning the mission s third orbit around the sun which began on june 18 2019 and completed on november 15 2019.
Nasa s parker solar probe began its fourth solar encounter today at 9 00 a m.
What is parker solar probe.
Previously solar probe solar probe plus or solar probe is a nasa robotic spacecraft launched in 2018 with the mission of making observations of the outer corona of the sun.
The spacecraft which has already completed four progressively closer orbits around the sun activated its instruments at a distance of 62 5 million miles from the sun s surface some 39 million miles farther from the sun than a typical solar encounter.
On may 9 2020 nasa s parker solar probe began its longest observation campaign to date.
The spacecraft about the size of a small car will travel directly into the sun s atmosphere about 4 million miles from our star s surface.
The parker solar probe abbreviated psp.
29 at about 4 30 a m.
At just before 1 50 p m.
1 2019 nasa s parker solar probe completed its third close approach of the sun called perihelion.
The spacecraft which has already completed four progressively closer orbits around the sun activated its instruments at a distance of 62 5 million miles from the sun s surface some 39 million miles farther from the sun than a typical solar encounter.