International Desk, 24 June: The ground-breaking Parker Solar Probe operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully completed its 16th perihelion pass completing another close flyby of the sun and exploring the mysterious solar corona.
The spacecraft just made a flyby of the sun, travelling into the corona, the sun’s extremely hot outer atmosphere, where temperatures rise above a mind-boggling 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (1 million degrees Celsius).
The Parker Solar Probe, outfitted with cutting-edge equipment keeps up its exploration of the sun’s corona by gathering crucial information and enduring harsh conditions.
The probe’s instruments remain kept at a pleasant 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29.4 degrees Celsius) despite the hot plasma surrounding it thanks to its amazing 4.5-inch (11.4 centimetre) thick heat shield. The spaceship can safely withstand temperatures of more than 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,400 degrees Celsius) thanks to its cover.
The Parker Solar Probe which was launched in August 2018, was given a very eccentric orbit around the sun. The spacecraft can get near to the sun’s photosphere during its perihelion passes—up to 6 million miles (9.6 million km) away.
The probe will conduct a total of 24 close passes through the photosphere during its primary mission, acquiring crucial information that will help to improve stellar models and predict space weather events that could endanger satellites and electrical grids.
The sun’s corona, which is difficult to observe from Earth because it is hidden by the photosphere, the bright yellow sphere we see when staring at the sun, is of particular interest to scientists. However, the corona may be seen during total solar eclipses, providing astronomers with important insights into its makeup.
The gap in temperature between the various layers of the sun’s atmosphere is one of the central mysteries that researchers are working to solve. The corona is thousands of times hotter than the photosphere, which has an average temperature of about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,800 degrees Celsius).
Researchers aim to learn more about the processes underlying the coronal heating of the sun and its effects on the acceleration of the solar wind—a steady stream of charged particles—by examining these temperature variations.