A NASA Probe Flew Through a Massive Eruption from The Sun and Caught the Whole Thing on Camera
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has done it again. This time, the spacecraft has flown through a massive eruption from the sun and caught the whole thing on camera.
The eruption, which occurred on September 5, 2022, was one of the most powerful coronal mass ejections (CMEs) ever recorded. CMEs are huge explosions of plasma and magnetic fields that can travel millions of miles through space.
The Parker Solar Probe was flying just 5.7 million miles from the sun when the CME occurred. The spacecraft was able to collect data and images of the eruption from the inside, providing scientists with a never-before-seen look at these powerful events.
The images captured by the Parker Solar Probe show the CME as a huge, swirling cloud of plasma. The spacecraft also detected particles accelerating up to 840 miles per second, which is on a par with the most powerful solar storm ever observed.
The data collected by the Parker Solar Probe will help scientists to better understand how CMEs form and evolve. This information will be essential for developing more accurate space weather prediction models.
What’s next for the Parker Solar Probe?
The Parker Solar Probe is continuing its mission to study the sun. The spacecraft is now on its way to its eighth orbit of the sun, where it will continue to collect data and images of the solar atmosphere.
Scientists are particularly interested in learning more about the corona, which is the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere. The corona is very hot and turbulent, and it’s where CMEs are thought to originate.
The Parker Solar Probe is expected to continue its mission until at least 2025. By then, the spacecraft will have made 24 orbits of the sun and will have collected a wealth of data that will help scientists to better understand our closest star.
In the meantime, we can all enjoy the amazing images and videos that the Parker Solar Probe is sending back to Earth.