Did you know there’s a spacecraft that got closer to the Sun than anything humans have ever built? I know it sounds crazy, but you will see in this article that it’s possible. NASA sent a special probe to find out what’s really going on near the Sun… and it even flew into the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, called the corona, to take super close-up pictures and record solar activity. So, you can imagine that what it discovered is absolutely mind-blowing: From giant explosions to wild solar winds, this little spacecraft saw things no one had ever seen before. These images could change what we know about space weather forever.
So if you’ve ever looked up at that giant ball of fire in the sky and wondered what it’s hiding, get ready for this incredible discovery. Let’s get started!
Something seen close to the Sun
We all have a general picture of what the Sun might look like, but have you ever wondered what’s really inside the Sun? Well, NASA launched a special spacecraft called Parker Solar Probe that has gotten closer to the Sun thananything else made by humans… and it recorded things no one had ever seen before!
The spacecraft is about the size of a small car, but it’s equipped with super powerful cameras and sensors. Instead of staying far away (like all the others), this spacecraft traveled to just 6 million kilometers from the Sun’s surface — something that sounds very far… but in space terms,it’s dangerously close!
Why did they take such a risk?
Because the Sun doesn’t just give light and heat. It also throws something into space called solar storms: they’re bursts of energy that can affect satellites, damage phone signals, and even mess with electricity on Earth. If one day we want to travel in space or have more technology up there, we need to really understand how the Sun works.
That’s why they sent the Parker probe. They wanted to see up close what’s going on there, how the solar wind moves (a flow of charged particles the Sun constantly sends out), and how those powerful storms form.
What did they discover?
As it happens with every NASA finding, what scientists discovered was nothing short of amazing! This was done thanks to a special camera, the size of a shoebox, the spacecraft recorded for the first time. Let’s have a look at what was found:
- The Sun’s atmosphere (called the corona), where many mysterious things happen.
- The solar wind moving in all directions.
- And something very strange called the heliospheric current sheet (a kind of giant spiral that spins through the entire solar system).
That’s no everything, what’s more important is the fact that the Sun was seen throwing out something called CMEs, huge bursts of gas and energy. These are so powerful that if they reach Earth, they could affect our satellites and phone and internet signals.
What else are they studying?
A NASA scientist named Angelos Vourlidas explained that the Parker spacecraft saw several of these explosions piling up on top of each other, like waves crashing in the sea. That is very rare to see, and it could help scientists better understand how these storms behave.
The Sun still holds many secrets. But thanks to missions like the Parker Solar Probe, we’re starting to uncover them little by little. That’s why it’s important that scientists can predict these stormsmore accurately, so that they could better protect astronauts, space stations, satellites, and even the electricity we use every day. Isn’t it amazing how everything works in space and can even influence us?