Britt Jones
NASA have revealed images that show the surface of the Sun in the closest attempt to get near it after its record-breaking mission last year.
It all began when the Parker Solar Probe landed closer to the sun's surface than ever before on December 24.
The probe traveled 3.8 million miles above the sun's molten surface to sample the star's atmosphere for the first time.
This was seven times closer to the Sun than any other craft in humanity's history has ever been able to do before.
Advert
The spacecraft flew by the sun's 'corona', which is approximately 1.8 million to 3.6 million degrees F (1 million to 2 million degrees C) and can be seen on Earth as bright wisps during a total solar eclipse.
Traveling at 435,000 mph, the probe is still the fastest object ever created, and it made its record-breaking pass by the Sun, capturing stunning new images that show a never-seen-before atmosphere.
The images are now helping scientists to better understand the Sun’s influence across the solar system, as per NASA.
“Parker Solar Probe has once again transported us into the dynamic atmosphere of our closest star,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
He added: “We are witnessing where space weather threats to Earth begin, with our eyes, not just with models.
"This new data will help us vastly improve our space weather predictions to ensure the safety of our astronauts and the protection of our technology here on Earth and throughout the solar system.”
Posted to social media, the images from the Parker Solar Probe shocked viewers.
Essentially, it’s like a wisp of smoke or squirting a substance through water with how it curves and moves.
Using a number of scientific instruments, including the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR), the Parker Solar Probe revealed the corona and solar wind, which is a constant stream of electrically charged particles from the Sun.
The solar wind and outbursts of material and magnetic currents help to ‘generate auroras, strip planetary atmospheres, and induce electric currents that can overwhelm power grids and affect communications at Earth’ said NASA.
By studying solar winds, scientists might be able to trace the origins of the Sun.
But on the topic of the Sun, many who saw the images were a little dubious, as they asked how it was possible for the Parker Solar Probe to get so close to the Sun and withstand such temperatures.
One person wrote: “How are they able to capture that with so much heat.”
Someone else said: “It’s hard to believe that this is real.. how can a camera not only survive that close to the sun, but perform flawlessly and transmit that feed? Surely radios and comms that close would be disrupted.”
In reality, the Parker Solar Probe has built-in protection from the heat in the form of its hexagonal solar shield mounted on the sun-facing side.
This protects from extreme heat and radiation caused by the Sun thanks to its reinforced carbon–carbon composite and carbon foam core, which can withstand up to 2,500 F (1,370 C).
So, there you have it.