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Based on a text by Nicole Mortillaro CBC News
On August 6, the Parker Solar Probe will be sent into space to study the atmosphere of our star, sometimes to as little as 6.1 million kilometers away from this giant fireball.
"Many people think this distance is not particularly small," says Nicola Fox, chief scientist for the project at the space agency US. But if I place the Sun and the Earth on either side of a football field, the probe will be about one meter from the end zone on the side of the Sun.
Named in honor of the astrophysicist Eugene Parker – the first living scientist to earn this distinction – the probe will enter the upper layer of the Sun, called the solar corona.
Since this layer is not very dense, it is difficult to study. The only moment it is possible to see it is during an eclipse, or with the help of a special instrument that blocks the sun's light.
Solar Forecasts
Besides the study of the solar corona , the probe will also be used to try to predict the solar "weather". Because if the Sun is essential to life on Earth, the star is certainly not friendly.
The solar flares, which occur in the colder regions of the star, are often followed by ejections in which particles called plasma are projected into space and travel in sidereal space, propelled by solar winds.
These events may lead to an "overdose" of radio waves, or even the breakdown of electrical distribution networks . The great failure of March 1989, in Quebec, resulted from one of these solar flares.
"It is of paramount importance to be able to predict the spatial conditions, like our prediction of the weather conditions on Earth NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, a scientist, says, "With the Parker Solar Probe mission, scientists are trying to better understand solar flares as well as other aspects of the Sun, such as its crown," says Alex Young, scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Magnetic Field and Winds.
"The solar wind changes from a light breeze to a supersonic speed and then travels millions of kilometers an hour," says Young. How does this happen? What is happening here? "
Mysterious Operation
"This is a very strange environment for us. We are used to the concept that if you move away from a heat source, the temperature will drop. But that's not what happens on the Sun, "says the scientist of the Goddard Space Flight Center.
As we leave the surface of the star, which is 10,000 degrees, and we are closer to the crown, we find ourselves in an area of millions of degrees.
According to the researcher, this mystery not only feeds the way our star works , but also all the other stars of the universe.
To protect itself from radiation and heat, the American probe will need a technological boost.
No question of exposing oneself to temperatures more that extremes generated by the Sun; if there are indeed excessively hot particles, they are so few that the probe runs little risk of overheating.
Nevertheless, the machine will have to withstand temperatures around 1400 degrees Celsius. 19659002] To achieve this, the probe is equipped with a ceramic shield which will always be oriented towards the Sun.
The solar panels which will feed the spacecraft will retract at each approach near the star, for not to be exposed to the sun's rays, while a refrigeration system will be used to prevent the probe from roasting on the spot.
A long trip
If all goes well, the probe will be launched on the 6th August and arrive around the Sun on November 1st. The craft will then begin an orbit of the star lasting 88 days, which will take it further than Venus. Closest to the Sun, in 2024, the Parker Solar Probe will spin at a speed of 692 000 km / h.
The probe will complete 24 orbits, with seven gravitational "hands" from Venus, which will help it speed up
This is not the first mission to study our star. NASA has already launched several, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Solar and Helioscopic Observatory, which are still in progress.
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