New images reveal the sun in never-before-seen detail after a record-breaking probe flyby late last year.
The images, taken a negligible 6.1 million kilometres from the sun’s surface, capture features in the solar wind, the constant stream of electrically charged subatomic particles released by the sun that rage across the solar system at speeds exceeding 1.6 million kilometres an hour.
These images, and other data, are helping scientists understand the mysteries of the solar wind, which is essential to understanding its effects on Earth.
“Parker Solar Probe has once again transported us into the dynamic atmosphere of our closest star,” NASA Science Mission Directorate associate administrator Nicky Fox 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.”
The solar probe started its closest approach to the sun on December 24, 2024, flying just 6.1 million kilometres from the solar surface.
It took the new images while passing through the sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona.
Why are solar winds important?
Solar winds can wreak potential havoc on planetary bodies, including Earth.
They can help generate auroras, strip atmospheres, and overwhelm power grids and electronic communications on Earth.
The new images give scientists a closer look at what happens to the solar wind shortly after it is released from the corona.
They also captured the collision of multiple coronal mass ejections, or CMEs – large outbursts of charged particles that are a key driver of space weather – for the first time in high resolution.
“In these images, we’re seeing the CMEs basically piling up on top of one another,” Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory WISPR instrument scientist Angelos Vourlidas said.
“We’re using this to figure out how the CMEs merge together, which can be important for space weather.”
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