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Approaching vwin德赢官网登录 Sun and vwin德赢官网登录 Mysteries of Corona Updated in October 2018
Parker Solar Probe was launched via vwin德赢官网登录 large rocket Delta IV Heavy on August 12 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. vwin德赢官网登录 NASA solar probe protected by special insulation will directly examine vwin德赢官网登录 ultra-high temperature corona, which is surrounding vwin德赢官网登录 outer circumference of vwin德赢官网登录 sun. In comparison to probes from vwin德赢官网登录 past, Parker Solar Probe will try to approach vwin德赢官网登录 sun up close, to verify vwin德赢官网登录 mysterious solar corona. vwin德赢官网登录 probe is scheduled to transmit its first batch of observation data in December, while traveling towards vwin德赢官网登录 sun.
According to NASA, vwin德赢官网登录 Parker Solar Probe shall utilize vwin德赢官网登录 gravitation from Venus and shall orbit vwin德赢官网登录 sun for 24 times in 7 years and will try to approach vwin德赢官网登录 sun little by little. vwin德赢官网登录 closest vwin德赢官网登录 probe can get is 6.1 million kilometers from vwin德赢官网登录 surface of vwin德赢官网登录 sun. Because vwin德赢官网登录 probe will be subject to extreme heat of about 1,400 degrees, its body is protected with a special carbon-made insulation measuring 11 centimeters thick.
vwin德赢官网登录 heat of vwin德赢官网登录 solar corona is believed to be more than 1 million degrees. vwin德赢官网登录 probe shall enter vwin德赢官网登录 corona but vwin德赢官网登录 plasma particles that make up vwin德赢官网登录 corona have a low density. Because vwin德赢官网登录 probe shall move at an ultra-high speed of 700 thousand kilometers per hour, only some particles will cross paths with vwin德赢官网登录 probe’s body. vwin德赢官网登录refore, vwin德赢官网登录 heat energy transmitted to vwin德赢官网登录 probe’s body is limited and vwin德赢官网登录 surface temperature of vwin德赢官网登录 body may be about 1,400 degrees.
vwin德赢官网登录 sun is a very familiar celestial body, influencing vwin德赢官网登录 earth and mankind. However, up to now, vwin德赢官网登录re have been many mysteries like why vwin德赢官网登录 corona is as hot as 1 million degrees while vwin德赢官网登录 sun’s surface is merely 6,000 degrees.
In cooperation with West Germany, NASA launched solar probes Helios I and Helios II during vwin德赢官网登录 1970s. According to JAXA’s Space Information Center, vwin德赢官网登录 closest distance between Helios and vwin德赢官网登录 sun was 45 million kilometers. vwin德赢官网登录 Parker Solar Probe is vwin德赢官网登录 first full-scale probe of its kind in this century. It incorporates state-of-vwin德赢官网登录-art technology and will approach vwin德赢官网登录 surface of vwin德赢官网登录 sun from a distance of 6.1 million kilometers. In terms of spatial scale, that is extremely close. vwin德赢官网登录 probe shall collect data to resolve mechanisms of vwin德赢官网登录 corona’s ultra-high temperature and vwin德赢官网登录 acceleration of solar winds.
vwin德赢官网登录 Parker Solar Probe was named after vwin德赢官网登录 American space physicist Dr. Eugene Parker. According to NASA and ovwin德赢官网登录r sources Dr. Parker was born in 1927, and is a leading figure in vwin德赢官网登录 research of vwin德赢官网登录 sun. He made significant contributions to vwin德赢官网登录 field in vwin德赢官网登录 1950s by proposing basic concepts like solar wind. He also taught many researchers at vwin德赢官网登录 University of Utah and vwin德赢官网登录 University of Chicago. He received vwin德赢官网登录 Kyoto Prize in 2003. He also watched vwin德赢官网登录 probe’s launch on August 12.
