Solar Probes

Why do we study the sun and the solar wind?
  • The corona gives rise to the solar wind, a continuous flow of charged particles that permeates the solar system. 
  • Unpredictable solar winds cause disturbances in our planet’s magnetic field and can play havoc with communications technology on the earth.
  • Findings of study will enable scientists to forecast changes in the earth’s space environment.
  • In the most extreme cases of these space weather events, it can actually affect our power grids on the earth
  • The sun is a source of light and heat for life on Earth. The more we know about it, the more we can understand how life on Earth developed
 
Parker Solar Probe:
  • NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will study sun’s outer atmosphere and to understand how sun works.
  • It is set to fly into the sun’s corona within 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, seven times closer than any other spacecraft.
  • The previous closest pass to the sun was by a probe called Helios 2, which in 1976 came within 43 million km.
  • The distance of the earth from the sun is approximately 149.6 million km.

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