NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, the closest spacecraft to the Sun, recently flew through a massive solar explosion and survived. This is a major achievement for NASA and will provide scientists with valuable data on the behaviour of solar explosions.
The Parker Solar Probe is well-fortified to withstand the harsh conditions near the sun. It has a thick heat shield and is equipped with instruments to study the sun’s atmosphere and solar wind.
Scientists have recently unveiled scarce footage capturing a solar phenomenon characterised by the eruption of an immense mass of extremely hot gas, or plasma.
Watch the video here:
According to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, on September 5, 2022, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was about to make its 13th close approach to the Sun when a coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted right in front of it. CMEs are powerful explosions of magnetic fields and plasma that can travel millions of miles through space.
The Parker Solar Probe was equipped with instruments to capture the CME in unprecedented detail. The video shows the CME erupting from the sun and then the spacecraft passing through it. The spacecraft spent roughly two days observing the CME, becoming the first spacecraft ever to fly through a powerful solar explosion near the Sun.
The data collected by the Parker Solar Probe provides researchers with an unparalleled view of CMEs and an opportunity to study them early in their evolution for the first time. This data could help scientists better understand and predict CMEs, which could help protect Earth from their harmful effects.
CMEs can cause disruptions to Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, which can lead to power outages, communication disruptions, and other problems. By better understanding CMEs, scientists can develop better ways to mitigate these risks.
The Parker Solar Probe’s flight through the CME is a major achievement for NASA and for science. It provides us with new insights into these powerful solar events and could help us better protect ourselves from their effects.
