NASA’s Parker Solar Probe made its closest-ever approach to the sun on December 24, flying within 3.86 million miles of the solar surface at a speed of 430,000 mph. The mission is designed to study the sun’s outer atmosphere and help researchers understand how solar storms erupt into space.
The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, will likely fly through plumes of solar plasma and active regions of the star as it swoops close to the sun. Observing the sun’s corona, an ultrahot region of the outermost atmosphere, will help scientists better understand space weather and predict its impact on Earth.
During periods of intense space weather, the sun can unleash giant solar flares and charged particles directly at Earth, potentially damaging satellites and power grids. The Parker Solar Probe mission aims to improve forecasting of space weather events and their consequences, similar to meteorologists’ work on Earth’s weather.
Named after astrophysicist Eugene Parker, who first theorized solar wind, the spacecraft launched in 2018 and has circled the sun more than 20 times. The recent flyby of Venus helped slingshot the probe closer to the sun during the most active phase of the sun’s 11-year cycle of activity, known as the solar maximum.
The mission’s close encounters with the sun will provide valuable data on solar phenomena, with potential benefits for both scientific understanding and practical applications such as space weather forecasting.
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