![]() ![]() The solar wind is a collection of charged particles that stream from the star and flow past Earth at speeds of more than a million mph (400 kilometers per second), according to NASA. The sun is the primary source of Earth's light and heat, but that's not the only way it affects the planet. Explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles.Determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind.Trace the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona and solar wind.The Parker Solar Probe is studying the sun up close and personal in a bid to understand how energy and heat move through the sun's atmosphere and affect processes such as the solar wind.Īccording to APL, the three main scientific objectives of the Parker Solar Probe are: When the probe makes its closest approach to the sun, its solar shields will encounter temperatures approaching 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit (1,400 degrees Celsius), according to APL.Īstonishingly, the spacecraft's science instruments will be protected from these scorching temperatures and remain close to room temperature - about 85 degrees F (30 degrees C). Over its lifetime, the probe will use seven Venus flybys to gradually narrow its orbit around the sun, coming as close as 3.83 million miles (6.16 million km) - more than seven times closer than Mercury gets to our star, according to the APL. The solar probe's swooping trajectory around the sun would not be possible without a series of Venus gravity assist flybys. The Parker Solar Probe has flown closer to the sun than any other spacecraft and will continue to shrink its orbit around our star over its approximately seven-year lifespan. (Image credit: Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.) The results show that HIS will meet or exceed all necessary requirements to fullfill its ambitious scientific goals.The Parker Solar Probe will make 7 Venus gravity assist flybys and 24 orbits of the sun throughout its lifetime. During the course of 20 HIS has been calibrated at the facility of SwRI and University of Bern, using a large energy range (0.1-450 keV), multiple masses (H-Fe), as well as charge states (1-6). As a result of the measurements HIS will take, we will be able to: link events on the surface of the Sun with structures in the interplanetary medium determine the extent of gravitational settling in the expansion region of the solar wind identify interplanetary shocks and characterize their spatial and temporal evolution characterize the power spectra of density and velocity uctuations upstream and downstream of shocks study the heating and dissipation mechanisms at shocks at various radial distances and latitudes and identify the mechanisms that heat thermal solar wind ions near shocks and determine the energy partition at shocks. The close proximity and the quasi-corotation will allow for determination of the source regions on the sun for the observed events. This instrument will allow for unprecedented data collection of particle characteristics near the Sun at various heliolatitudes during both the quiet and active phases of the solar cycle. The HIS sensor has been designed and optimized to study heavy ions in the solar wind, suprathermal particles, and pickup ions in the range 0.5 to 75keV/e. ![]()
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