According to calculations by the American space agency NASA, a space probe flew closer to the sun on Christmas than any man-made object before it. Accordingly, the probe “Parker Solar Probe” came within 6.1 million kilometers of the Sun’s surface at a record speed of 690,000 kilometers per hour.
Data won’t be available until late January, when the probe’s main antenna points toward Earth, astrophysicist Volker Bothmer of the University of Göttingen said a few days before the flight. “But it will take a few years to evaluate and understand all the data.” Bothmer leads the German participation in the mission and has helped develop the concept and a wide-angle camera, among other things.
Temperatures of around 1000 degrees Celsius
According to NASA calculations, the probe, which was the size of a small car, had a speed of about 690,000 kilometers per hour at its closest point to the sun and could withstand temperatures of around 1,000 degrees Celsius. It flew faster than any other object built by humans to date. To protect the instruments, it has an 11.4 centimeter thick heat shield, made mainly of carbon. According to NASA, it is even designed for a temperature of around 1,400 degrees.
The first solar probes were launched in the 1970s
The first solar probes were launched in the 1970s. However, the German-American probes “Helios 1” and “Helios 2” kept a reasonable distance from the heat ball at about 45 million kilometers.
Further approach in the coming year
According to Bothmer, the proximity of about six million kilometers means an even deeper immersion in the solar corona. “This will give us data from regions of the solar atmosphere that have never existed before. In this proximity we are in the birthplaces of the solar wind and solar storms.”
For comparison, Earth is on average about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the sun, and the nearest planet, Mercury, is about 36 million miles (58 million kilometers) away
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
