NASA’S PARKER SOLAR PROBE ENTERS SUN’S CORONA
Highlights
- Corona is the outermost layer of Sun’s atmosphere. Here, strong magnetic fields bind plasma as well prevent turbulent solar winds from escaping.
- Prior to April 28, spacecraft had been flying just beyond the Alfven point.
- The Alfven point is when solar winds become greater than critical speed and can break free of Sun’s corona and magnetic fields.
The Parker Solar Probe
- Parker Solar Probe is a NASA space probe. It was launched on August 12, 2018. It was launched with objective of making observations of outer corona of the Sun.
- It reached to within 9.86 solar radii from Sun’s center.
- By 2025, it will travel at closest approach. It is the first spacecraft to fly into low solar corona.
Background
- This project was announced in 2009, at the cost of US$1.5 billion. The spacecraft was designed and built by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
- It is the first spacecraft by NASA, named after a living person.
- It has been named so to honor nonagenarian physicist Eugene Newman Parker.
Sun’s Corona
- Sun’s corona is an aura of plasma surrounding it. It extends for millions of kilometers into outer space. Corona is easily visible during a total solar eclipse.
- It can also be observed with a coronagraph. As per spectroscopy measurements, there is a strong ionization in corona and the plasma temperature of 1000000 kelvin.
- It is much hotter as compared to surface of the Sun.