Stunning images from the first solar flare research vessel

The Parker Solar Probe is a vehicle the size of a small car that was launched in 2018 to study the Sun up close. It is protected by a special carbon composite shield 11 cm thick. This spacecraft has approached and recorded data closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft, satellite, or human creature in general.

As announced by NASA, the Parker Solar Probe has achieved another impressive feat by becoming the first spacecraft to enter a solar flare and not only survive, but capture images and data from the heart of the phenomenon for the first time. This data will help scientists better understand this phenomenon and make better predictions about so-called “space weather” that also affects Earth.

The data collected on the solar phenomenon is very useful.

Solar flares or coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are basically explosions that occur in the Sun and release solar light, energy and material into space. When such an explosion occurs, a “tsunami” of electrically charged particles begins from the point of explosion, and if it reaches the ground, it cannot penetrate the atmosphere, but it causes natural phenomena such as the aurora borealis, and at the same time it can cause malfunctions in telecommunications. Satellites and power grids.

Among other things, Parker Solar Probe’s foray into a solar flare is expected to help prove a theory developed about 20 years ago about the interaction of CMEs with interplanetary dust that also plays a role in space weather, and understanding these mechanisms could help provide Accurate predictions about when and how Earth will deal with the effects of solar flares.

Watch the amazing photos in the video