 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
 by Miles Hatfield for NASA Blogs Washington DC (SPX) Mar 07, 2022
As NASA's Parker Solar Probe completes its latest swing around the Sun, it's doing so in full view of dozens of other spacecraft and ground-based telescopes. These powerful instruments can't actually see Parker itself - the van-sized spacecraft is far too small for visible detection - but they offer from a distance what the probe is sensing close-up, as it samples and analyzes the solar wind and magnetic fields from as close as 5.3 million miles (8.5 million kilometers) from the Sun's surface. Occurring at 10:36 a.m. EST (15:36 UTC) on Feb. 25, this was the 11th close approach - or perihelion in the spacecraft's orbit around the Sun - of 24 planned for Parker Solar Probe's primary mission. Most of these passes occur while the Sun is between the spacecraft and Earth, blocking any direct lines of sight from home. But every few orbits, the dynamics work out to put the spacecraft in Earth's view - and the Parker mission team seizes these opportunities to organize broad observation campaigns that not only include telescopes on Earth, but several spacecraft as well. More than 40 observatories around the globe, including the recently commissioned Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii, among other major installations in the southwestern United States, Europe and Asia, are training their visible, infrared and radio telescopes on the Sun over the several weeks around the perihelion. About a dozen spacecraft, including NASA's STEREO, Solar Dynamics Observatory, TIMED and Magnetospheric Multiscale missions, ESA's and NASA's Solar Orbiter, ESA's BepiColombo, the JAXA-led Hinode, and even NASA's MAVEN at Mars are making simultaneous observations of activity stretching from the Sun to Earth and beyond. The pass also marked the midway point in the mission's 11th solar encounter, which began Feb. 20 and continues through March 2. The spacecraft checked in with mission operators at APL - where Parker Solar Probe was designed and built - on Feb. 28 to report that it was healthy and operating as expected. Most of the data from this encounter will stream back to Earth from March 30 through May 1, though the team will get a glimpse of some readings when the spacecraft sends a limited amount of data this week.
Solar Activity Picks Up Along with that data, scientists eagerly anticipate a look at what Parker Solar Probe recorded from the large solar prominence on Feb. 15 that blasted tons of charged particles in the spacecraft's direction. Project Scientist Nour Raouafi of the Space Exploration Sector, said it was the largest event Parker Solar Probe has experienced during its first three-and-a-half years in flight. "The shock from the event hit Parker Solar Probe head-on, but the spacecraft was built to withstand activity just like this - to get data in the most extreme conditions," he said. "And with the Sun getting more and more active, we can't wait to see the data that Parker Solar Probe gathers as it gets closer and closer." Assisted by a pair of orbit-shaping Venus flybys in August 2023 and November 2024, Parker Solar Probe will eventually come within 4 million miles (6.2 million kilometers) of the solar surface in December 2024 at speeds topping 430,000 miles per hour. Follow the probe's trek through the inner solar system?.
How solar storms can destroy satellites with ease Morgantown WV (The Conversation) Mar 03, 2022 On Feb. 4, 2022, SpaceX launched 49 satellites as part of Elon Musk's Starlink internet project, most of which burned up in the atmosphere days later. The cause of this more than US$50 million failure was a geomagnetic storm caused by the Sun. Geomagnetic storms occur when space weather hits and interacts with the Earth. Space weather is caused by fluctuations within the Sun that blast electrons, protons and other particles into space. I study the hazards space weather poses to space-based assets ... read more
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
Google
