Parker Solar Probe Makes Record Close Approach to the Sun
NASA reported that the Parker Solar Probe recorded a record close approach to the Sun on Christmas Day, reaching a distance of just 6.1 million kilometers from its surface, the closest distance achieved by any human-made object to date.According to the agency, the probe reached this distance at noon, although it cannot be immediately verified because communication with Earth has been out for several days. NASA has said it does not expect to receive signals from the spacecraft before December 27 (EST).
She added that data on the solar approach will not be available until the end of next January, when the probe's main antenna will be pointed at Earth, according to astrophysicist Volker Bothmer of the University of Göttingen in Germany.
Bothmer, who is contributing to the project as part of the German team participating in the mission, pointed out that analyzing and understanding the data will require several years of study. This data comes as part of Parker's mission to understand solar phenomena such as solar winds and solar storms, which the sun launches into space.
According to the US agency, the probe, which is the size of a small car, flies at a speed of up to 690,000 kilometers per hour at its closest point to the sun. It also withstands temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, thanks to its carbon heat shield, which can withstand temperatures of up to 1,400 degrees Celsius.
Launched in August 2018, Parker Solar Probe is in an elliptical orbit around the sun, repeatedly moving closer and further away from it. The probe made its closest approach to the sun in October 2018, coming within 42.7 million kilometers (26.6 million miles), making it the first spacecraft to come that close. Since then, the spacecraft has continued to explore regions close to the sun.
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