Latest news with #WISPR
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA probe captures our closest-ever view of the sun
Striking new images highlighting a close glimpse of the sun's atmosphere were captured by NASA's Parker Solar Probe. The photos are assisting scientists with studying the sun's influence across the solar system, including occurrences affecting Earth, according to aNASA release. When did the NASA probe obtain photos of the sun? Dig deeper On Dec. 24, 2024, the NASA Parker Solar Probe began its closest approach to the sun, traveling approximately 3.8 million miles from the solar surface. When theNASA probe glided though the sun's outer atmosphere, it gathered an assortment of scientific instruments, including the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR). RELATED:SpaceX capsule delivers NASA astronaut replacements to ISS According to NASA, the WISPR images reveal the sun's outer atmosphere and solar wind, a stream of electrically charged particles from the sun that move wildly across the solar system. This imagery also provides researcherswith a detailed view at what takes place with solar wind after it's released from the sun's outer atmosphere, while displaying a barrier where the sun's magnetic field changes directions from north to south. RELATED:NASA 'Hidden Figures' women to receive Congressional Gold Medals NASA explained in a release that during NASA Parker Solar Probe's orbit near the sun, it will keep collecting more data during its impending travel through the sun's outer atmosphere to help scientists determine the solar wind's origins. The probe's next pass happens on Sept. 15, 2025. The Source Information for this story was provided by a NASA release on the NASA probe's journey near the sun. This story was reported from Washington, the daily Crossword
The Standard
a day ago
- Science
- The Standard
Skimming the Sun, probe sheds light on space weather threats
This photo provided by NASA on July 15, 2025 taken by Parker Solar Probe's WISPR instrument during its record-breaking flyby of the Sun on December 25, 2024, shows the solar wind racing out from the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona. (Photo by Handout / NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab / AFP)
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
See it: Closest image of Sun yet taken by NASA's Parker Solar Probe
Last year, NASA's Parker Solar Probe made its record-breaking flyby of the Sun, zooming just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, and we're just now seeing some results from that close brush with our star. This week, Nasa released new images taken by the spacecraft from the record-breaking close approach of the Sun, including from an instrument called WISPER. As Parker skimmed through the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona, it used the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) to observe the corona and solar wind. Nasa's Parker Solar Probe Makes Historic Christmas Eve Flight Through Sun's Atmosphere The video below was created with images from WISPR, which shows solar wind in never-before-seen detail. According to NASA, this close-up shows what happens right after solar wind comes blasting out from the corona. It also shows multiple collisions of coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, the space weather phenomena most known for creating aurora lights on Earth. This data could be key to understanding space weather, according to Angelos Vourlidas, the WISPR instrument scientist with Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland. NASA said as CMEs collide, their trajectory can change, making space weather forecasting more difficult to predict if these charged particles are headed for Earth. Still, scientists do not know how solar wind is created. "The big unknown has been: how is the solar wind generated, and how does it manage to escape the Sun's immense gravitational pull?" said Nour Rawafi, the project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. "Understanding this continuous flow of particles, particularly the slow solar wind, is a major challenge, especially given the diversity in the properties of these streams — but with Parker Solar Probe, we're closer than ever to uncovering their origins and how they evolve." Parker Solar Probe was named after the heliophysist Eugene Parker, who first theorized this concept in 1958. Parker was at the launch of the spacecraft with his namesake in 2018. He passed away at 94-years-old in 2022. article source: See it: Closest image of Sun yet taken by NASA's Parker Solar Probe
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA just took the closest-ever images of the sun, and they are incredible (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA's Parker Solar Probe is no stranger to breaking records. On Dec. 24, 2024, Parker made history by flying closer to the sun than any spacecraft in history. The probe reached a distance of just 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the solar surface, entering the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere, known as the corona. During this flyby, it also reached a top speed of 430,000 miles per hour (690,000 kilometers per hour), breaking its own record as the fastest ever human-made object. Now, NASA has released remarkable video captured during the historic flyby, offering the closest views of the sun ever recorded. The new images were captured with Parker's Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe, or WISPR, revealing a never-before-seen view of the sun's corona and solar winds shortly after they are released from the corona. Video not playing? Some ad blockers can disable our video player. "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, in a statement accompanying the images. "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." WISPR's images revealed an important boundary in the sun's atmosphere called the heliospheric current sheet, where the sun's magnetic field changes direction from north to south. It also captured, for the first time in high resolution, collisions between multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are major drivers of space weather, and are important in understanding risks to astronauts and technology on Earth such as power grids and communications satellites. "In these images, we're seeing the CMEs basically piling up on top of one another," said Angelos Vourlidas, the WISPR instrument scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which designed, built, and operates the spacecraft in Laurel, Maryland. "We're using this to figure out how the CMEs merge together." Before the Parker Solar Probe, NASA and its international partners could only study solar wind from afar, which is why the spacecraft has been instrumental in closing key knowledge gaps. It identified the widespread presence of "switchbacks" — zig-zagging magnetic field patterns — around 14.7 million miles from the sun and linked them to the origins of one of the two main types of solar wind. Closer in, at just 8 million miles, Parker discovered that the boundary of the sun's corona is far more uneven and complex than previously believed. But more remained to be discovered. "The big unknown has been: how is the solar wind generated, and how does it manage to escape the sun's immense gravitational pull?" said Nour Rawafi, the project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. "Understanding this continuous flow of particles, particularly the slow solar wind, is a major challenge, especially given the diversity in the properties of these streams — but with Parker Solar Probe, we're closer than ever to uncovering their origins and how they evolve." Prior to Parker Solar Probe, distant observations suggested there are actually two varieties of slow solar wind, distinguished by the orientation or variability of their magnetic fields. One type of slow solar wind, called Alfvénic, has small-scale switchbacks. The second type, called non-Alfvénic, doesn't show these variations in its magnetic field. As it spiraled closer to the sun, Parker Solar Probe confirmed there are indeed two types of solar wind. Its close-up views are also helping scientists differentiate the origins of the two types, which scientists believe are unique. The non-Alfvénic wind may come off features called helmet streamers — large loops connecting active regions where some particles can heat up enough to escape — whereas Alfvénic wind might originate near coronal holes, or dark, cool regions in the corona. "We don't have a final consensus yet, but we have a whole lot of new intriguing data," said Adam Szabo, Parker Solar Probe mission scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Parker Solar Probe is built to endure extreme conditions — from the freezing cold of deep space to the intense heat near the sun. A key factor in its survival is the difference between temperature and heat. While space near the sun can reach temperatures of several million degrees, that doesn't necessarily mean there's a lot of heat. This is because the sun's corona is extremely thin, meaning there are fewer particles. Even though individual particles in the corona are incredibly hot, there aren't many. The probe, therefore, doesn't receive much heat. "While Parker Solar Probe will be traveling through a space with temperatures of several million degrees, the surface of [its] heat shield that faces the sun will only get heated to about 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (about 1,400 degrees Celsius)," write NASA scientists. These temperatures are, of course, still incredibly hot, which makes its heat shield, the Thermal Protection System (TPS), essential. The shield is made from a carbon composite foam sandwiched between two carbon plates. Carbon is ideal for this purpose because it is both lightweight and able to withstand extremely high temperatures without melting. "Tested to withstand up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,650 degrees Celsius), the TPS can handle any heat the sun can send its way, keeping almost all instrumentation safe," explained NASA. Its structure allows it to endure intense heat while minimizing weight, making it crucial for a spacecraft that needs to travel at extreme speeds. The outer surface of the TPS is also coated with a white ceramic paint, which helps reflect as much solar energy as possible and further reduces the amount of heat absorbed.
India Today
3 days ago
- Science
- India Today
This is the closest ever image of the Sun. You can clearly see the solar wind
In a historic achievement for solar science, NASA has released the closest-ever images of the Sun, captured by the Parker Solar Probe during its record-breaking approach in December probe flew just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface, skimming through the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, and offering humanity an unprecedented view into the heart of our solar system's its Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR), Parker Solar Probe delivered detailed images of the corona and the solar wind, a continuous stream of electrically charged particles that emanates from the Sun and influences the entire solar SOLAR WIND COMING FROM THE SUN These images allow scientists to observe, for the first time, the dynamic processes at the very source of space weather events that can disrupt satellites, power grids, and communications on Fox, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, emphasised the significance and said, '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.'Unraveling the Mysteries of Solar WindThe newly released WISPR images reveal the turbulent boundary where the Sun's magnetic field flips direction, known as the heliospheric current the first time, scientists observed multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—massive bursts of charged particles—colliding and merging in high resolution, a process that can intensify the effects of space weather on Earth. Angelos Vourlidas, WISPR instrument scientist, noted, 'We're seeing the CMEs basically piling up on top of one another which can be important for space weather.'Zooming in on Solar Wind's BirthplaceParker Solar Probe's close passes have revolutionised our understanding of the solar wind's origins. The probe confirmed that the fast solar wind is powered by magnetic 'switchbacks'—zigzagging fields—originating in coronal holes, while the slow solar wind, denser and more variable, may stem from large magnetic loops called helmet probe also distinguished two types of slow solar wind:Alfvenic: Characterised by small-scale switchbacks, likely from coronal Lacking these variations, possibly from helmet AheadWith its next close approach scheduled for September 2025, Parker Solar Probe continues to gather data that promises to deepen our understanding of the Sun's influence on space weather and, ultimately, life on Nour Rawafi, project scientist, put it, 'With Parker Solar Probe, we're closer than ever to uncovering [the solar wind's] origins and how they evolve.'- Ends
