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#HIS SOLAR ORBITER PLUS#
#HIS SOLAR ORBITER SERIES#

The Wide-field Imager for Solar Probe Plus (WISPR) is a telescope that makes three-dimensional images of the sun's corona and inner heliosphere to actually "see" the solar wind and provide 3D images of shocks and other structures as they travel past the spacecraft. The Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons Investigation (SWEAP) counts the most abundant particles in the solar wind, measuring the properties of electrons, protons and helium ions. "Until we can explain what is going on up close to the sun, we will not be able to accurately predict space weather effects that can cause havoc at Earth," says the APL Parker Solar Probe website. The Parker Solar Probe is helping scientists understand more about the sun's underlying mechanisms so they can improve space forecasting efforts and be more prepared for changes in solar activity. (Image credit: NASA/SDO) (Image credit: NASA/SDO) NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a solar flare on May 3, 2022, which is visible on the lower left. During times of peak activity - when the solar cycle is at solar maximum - space weather can pose a risk to communications on Earth, satellites and even spacewalking astronauts. Space weather is significantly affected by the solar wind and other solar outbursts such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Disturbances in the solar wind can shake our planet's magnetic field and pump energy into the radiation belts, triggering a set of changes known as space weather.

The solar wind is a collection of charged particles that stream from the star and flow past Earth at speeds of more than a million mph (400 kilometers per second), according to NASA. The sun is the primary source of Earth's light and heat, but that's not the only way it affects the planet.

Explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles.

Determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind.

Trace the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona and solar wind.

The Parker Solar Probe is studying the sun up close and personal in a bid to understand how energy and heat move through the sun's atmosphere and affect processes such as the solar wind.Īccording to APL, the three main scientific objectives of the Parker Solar Probe are: When the probe makes its closest approach to the sun, its solar shields will encounter temperatures approaching 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit (1,400 degrees Celsius), according to APL.Īstonishingly, the spacecraft's science instruments will be protected from these scorching temperatures and remain close to room temperature - about 85 degrees F (30 degrees C). Over its lifetime, the probe will use seven Venus flybys to gradually narrow its orbit around the sun, coming as close as 3.83 million miles (6.16 million km) - more than seven times closer than Mercury gets to our star, according to the APL.

#HIS SOLAR ORBITER SERIES#

The solar probe's swooping trajectory around the sun would not be possible without a series of Venus gravity assist flybys. The Parker Solar Probe has flown closer to the sun than any other spacecraft and will continue to shrink its orbit around our star over its approximately seven-year lifespan. (Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.) The Parker Solar Probe will make 7 Venus gravity assist flybys and 24 orbits of the sun throughout its lifetime.