{"id":3490,"date":"2022-01-10T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3490"},"modified":"2021-12-16T02:45:22","modified_gmt":"2021-12-16T02:45:22","slug":"nasas-parker-solar-probe-dipped-through-the-suns-atmosphere-for-the-first-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/nasas-parker-solar-probe-dipped-through-the-suns-atmosphere-for-the-first-time\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe Dipped Through the Sun\u2019s Atmosphere For the First Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe seems to be on a roll lately, as it\u2019s been consistently delivering several firsts for its team and humanity as a whole. Just a few weeks back, it made the headlines for becoming <a href=\"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/forget-supercars-the-fastest-man-made-object-is-a-space-probe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the fastest man-made object<\/a>, reaching a maximum speed of 586,864 km\/h (363,660 mi\/h) as it approached the Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, a few days later, it\u2019s back for more headlines, as the Parker Solar Probe \u201ctouched the Sun\u201d as it dipped below the outer layers of the solar <em>corona<\/em>, or our star\u2019s outermost part of its atmosphere. This makes the Parker Solar Probe the first-ever man-made object to have ever done so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"NASA&#039;s Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LkaLfbuB_6E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption> NASA details in its own video how the landmark space probe has done what many before it had not been able to do. (NASA, 2021) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;[The] Parker Solar Probe \u2018touching the Sun\u2019 is a monumental moment for solar science and a truly remarkable feat,&#8221; according to NASA headquarters\u2019 Science Mission Directorate associate administrator Thomas Zurbuchen. &#8220;Not only does this milestone provide us with deeper insights into our Sun&#8217;s evolution and [its] impacts on our solar system, but everything we learn about our own star also teaches us more about stars in the rest of the universe,\u201d according to Zurbuchen\u2019s statement in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2021\/nasa-enters-the-solar-atmosphere-for-the-first-time-bringing-new-discoveries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a NASA press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In particular, the quick dive by the probe passed it through the Sun\u2019s <em>Alfv\u00e9n critical surface<\/em> (ACS), or the surface where gravity no longer binds solar material to the Sun, leaving it to run off into the distance as part of <a href=\"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/a-distant-star-unleashed-the-most-massive-solar-storm-weve-ever-seen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">solar wind and other solar phenomena<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This means that, at the recorded distance of around 13 million km (8.1 million mi) from the perceived surface of the Sun, the Parker Solar Probe detected measurements in its magnetic and particle sensors that told it\u2014and the scientists back here on Earth\u2014that it had just passed the ACS. The Parker Solar Probe had just touched the edges of the Sun\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/lh6.googleusercontent.com\/iqG2qfgEkTNfp_g_2USuf5C3QH5XD_4U4jrgdghKqnlAZ6jjdaLvNTBgrjXWJGBNxMc31H88TZxj81Xio6ofaK0XZtX9ruE0zqVzcmCwYR9N18jS-_tjW7F0LArmXDbTWbqwO8d9\" ><figcaption> NASA\u2019s infographic on the Parker Solar Probe shows the full extent of its mission. (NASA&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center\/Mary P. Hrybyk-Keith, 2021) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Said University of Michigan professor and lead author of the paper Justin Kasper, who with a team published their world-first findings in the <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.aps.org\/prl\/abstract\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.127.255101\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Physical Review Letters<\/em><\/a>: \u201cWe were fully expecting that, sooner or later, we would encounter the corona for at least a short duration of time [&#8230;] [but] it is very exciting that we\u2019ve already reached it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The data that the solar probe will be able to gather in this area will be critical to understanding the processes that lay beneath the phenomena we now see in the solar corona, such as why it appears to be hotter in some parts compared to the surface of the Sun and how it manages to push out solar wind at such high speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting to see our advanced technologies succeed in taking Parker Solar Probe closer to the Sun than we\u2019ve ever been, and to be able to return such amazing science,\u201d said NASA Parker program executive Joseph Smith \u201cWe look forward to seeing what else the mission discovers as it ventures even closer in the coming years.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"references\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Hatfield, M. (2021, December 13). <em>Nasa enters the solar atmosphere for the first time<\/em> [Text]. NASA. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2021\/nasa-enters-the-solar-atmosphere-for-the-first-time-bringing-new-discoveries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2021\/nasa-enters-the-solar-atmosphere-for-the-first-time-bringing-new-discoveries<\/a><\/li><li>Kasper, J. C., Klein, K. G., Lichko, E., Huang, J., Chen, C. H. K., Badman, S. T., Bonnell, J., Whittlesey, P. L., Livi, R., Larson, D., Pulupa, M., Rahmati, A., Stansby, D., Korreck, K. E., Stevens, M., Case, A. W., Bale, S. D., Maksimovic, M., Moncuquet, M., \u2026 Zank, G. P. (2021). Parker solar probe enters the magnetically dominated solar corona. <em>Physical Review Letters<\/em>, <em>127<\/em>(25), 255101. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.127.255101\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.127.255101<\/a><\/li><li>Lavars, N. (2021, December 15). <em>NASA probe \u2018touches the Sun\u2019 with historic entry into solar atmosphere<\/em>. New Atlas. <a href=\"https:\/\/newatlas.com\/space\/nasa-parker-solar-probe-sun-entry-solar-atmosphere\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/newatlas.com\/space\/nasa-parker-solar-probe-sun-entry-solar-atmosphere\/<\/a><\/li><li>Weisberger, M. (2021, December 15). <em>\u2018Humanity has touched the sun\u2019 in a pioneering achievement for space exploration<\/em>. LiveScience. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/agu-nasa-solar-probe-touches-sun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/agu-nasa-solar-probe-touches-sun<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe seems to be on a roll lately, as it\u2019s been consistently delivering several firsts&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3491,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,18,14],"tags":[44,396],"class_list":{"0":"post-3490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-engineering","8":"category-history","9":"category-space","10":"tag-nasa","11":"tag-parker-solar-probe","12":"cs-entry","13":"cs-video-wrap"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3492,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3490\/revisions\/3492"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}