Parker Solar Probe's Record-Breaking Sun Approach and Speed

Rahul Somvanshi

NASA's Parker Solar Probe will approach closest to the Sun on Christmas Eve, when it will pass within 3.8 million miles of the sun's surface.

Photo Source: Picryl (PDM 1.0)

It will break the record set by the speed of 430,000 miles per hour to emerge as the fastest man-made object ever.

Photo Source: NASA (Flickr) (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

On August 12, 2018, the spacecraft was launched. According to NASA, this has been named after the great Doctor Eugene Parker, who literally revolutionized the approach through his research work regarding our Sun.

Photo Source: NASA HQ PHOTO (Flickr)(CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

It has a carbon-foam shield and maintains a system of cooling; it insulates itself in temperatures of up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit.

Photo Source: NASA Orion Spacecraft (Flickr)(CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

This will unveil one of the mysteries of the Sun : it is hotter than the surface of its own surface

Photo Source: NASA/SDO (AIA) (CC0 1.0)

It is taken during the solar maximum, which is equivalent to the peak activity period of the Sun in an 11-year activity cycle.

Photo Source: David Chenette, Joseph B. Gurman, Loren W. Acton (CC0 1.0)

Because the Sun will be at maximum radiation, the spacecraft will not return information to Earth until days after closest approach.

Photo Source: BBSO/NJIT (CC0 1.0)

The mission could deliver data that would enable enhanced predictions of space weather events impacting Earth's infrastructure.

Photo Source: Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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