I got to thinking about this. A tiny, insignificant piece of metallic dust orbiting the sun, the Parker probe is currently unlocking the secrets of a celestial body. And it's sharing this forbidden, god-level knowledge with carbon-based, dust-sized specks inhabiting the surface of a small rock that orbits it. No wonder the sun spits solar flares at us.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will make its 18th close approach of the Sun tomorrow Dec 28, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. ET. At perihelion, it will be a record distance of just 7.26 million km from the solar surface, racing by at a record speed of 635,266 km/h (similar to perihelion 17, which occurred 3 months ago).
For comparison, the perihelion of planet Mercury is at 45.3 mil km; average Earth-Sun distance = 150 mil km.
How does the Parker Solar Probe keep its cool, while venturing so close to the blazing Sun?
It does so using an innovative 2.3 m heat shield, which uses space-age materials to keep the instruments at 29°C while the Sun facing heat shield heats up to 1,370°C. Most of the heavy-lifting is done by a 11.4 cm thick layer of carbon foam, typically used in the medical industry for bone replacement.
See diagram below for some details.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is named after pioneering solar and plasma physicist Eugene N. Parker (Jun 10, 1927 – Mar 15, 2022). It is the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person.
In the 1950s, Parker proposed the existence of the solar wind and predicted the shape of the solar magnetic field. In 1987, he proposed nanoflares to explain why the corona was much hotter than the Sun’s surface.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe holds the record for the fastest spacecraft, beating its nearest rivals by a considerable amount.
For comparison, the table below shows speeds for various spacecraft, planets and satellites. #Parker#ParkerSolarProbe
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For about 11 days around perihelion, the Parker Solar Probe collects science data but does not communicate with earth. Data is downlinked once the spacecraft is about 0.25 AU away from the Sun. See diagram below.
During these 11 days, PSP is on its own, running instruments, storing data, keeping the shield pointed at the Sun, angling solar arrays to prevent overheating, thermal mgmt, preparing for the cruise phase, ...
On September 27th, NASA's Parker Solar Probe made its 17th flyby of the Sun, coming within just 7.26 million kilometers of its surface. At its closest point, the spacecraft was traveling at 176 km/s - a ludicrously fast speed. Despite this highly close approach to the Sun, Parker is in good health, with all its systems operating normally. But it will get closer, eventually coming within 6.2 km, completing 24 orbits of the Sun.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe completed its 17th close approach to the Sun yesterday Sept. 27, 2023 at 7:28 p.m. EDT. At perihelion, it was at a record distance of 7.26 million km from the solar surface, racing by at a record speed of 635,266 km/h.
The spacecraft will transmit science data from the encounter back to Earth from Oct 4 to Oct 19.
For comparison, the perihelion of planet Mercury is at 45.3 mil km.
Launched on Aug. 12, 2018, the Parker Solar Probe will make observations of the outer corona of the Sun, determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields and help improve space-weather forecasts.
In 2025, it will approach within 6.2 million km of the surface of the Sun, set a new speed record of 690,000 km/h and protect the spacecraft instruments from 1,377°C temps. at the carbon-composite heat shield.
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is named after pioneering solar and plasma physicist Eugene N. Parker (Jun 10, 1927 – Mar 15, 2022). It is the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person.
In the 1950s, Parker proposed the existence of the solar wind and predicted the shape of the solar magnetic field. In 1987, he proposed nanoflares to explain why the corona was much hotter than the Sun’s surface.
On Sept. 5, 2022, NASA's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) became the first spacecraft ever to fly through a coronal mass ejection (CME) - a powerful outburst of solar magnetic fields and plasma.
PSP captured the event over a 2-day period using its Wide Field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument. And, as designed, Parker survived the event.
The sound in the video is the sonification of the magnetic field.
The CME on Sept. 5, 2022 was an extreme one. Parker Solar Probe's Solar Wind Electrons, Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) instrument suite measured particle speeds up to 1,350 km/s. Had it been directed toward Earth, it is estimated that the CME would have been close in magnitude to the Carrington Event — a solar storm in 1859 that is held as the most powerful on record to hit Earth.
Tangentially related to this CME event caught by PSP is this fascinating video of comet C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) taken by the STEREO-A solar observatory during Sep 17-24, 2023.
The movie shows the comet's ion tail interacting with the solar wind. There was a glancing blow from a coronal mass ejection (CME) during the Sept 22-23 timeframe!
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Identifies Mechanism Driving the Sun’s Fast Wind Parker Solar Probe data has helped researchers understand how the sun's wind can reach speeds exceeding 1 million miles per hour. This could assist in predicting large solar eruptions, enhance our understanding of cosmic winds.
Parker Solar Probe Finds Magnetic Energy Near Sun’s Surface Enables Solar Wind To Reach Gravity-Defying Speeds (scitechdaily.com)
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Identifies Mechanism Driving the Sun’s Fast Wind Parker Solar Probe data has helped researchers understand how the sun's wind can reach speeds exceeding 1 million miles per hour. This could assist in predicting large solar eruptions, enhance our understanding of cosmic winds.