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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Parker solar probe successfully flew through the upper atmosphere of the Sun. This is the first time the probe has “touched” our nearest star. It happened 60 years after NASA set this goal.
For the first time in history, the probe flew through the highest layer of the solar atmosphere, the so-called corona, and took particle samples there. Parker’s solar probe was launched from Earth in 2018 and flew through the corona in April this year, but only a few months later, scientists received data that they had to check first.
This is a major milestone in the study of the Sun and astronomy in general. A spacecraft near our parent star can make discoveries that are impossible from Earth or other spacecraft sent into space.
“Not only does this milestone give us a deeper insight into the evolution of our Sun and its effects on the solar system, but everything we learn about our own star will also teach us about the stars in the rest of the universe,” explains Thomas Zurbuchen of NASA.
The first corona flight lasted only a few hours, but it is definitely not the last in this mission. The Parker spacecraft will continue to spiral closer to the Sun, eventually reaching up to 6 million kilometers close to the surface. The next flight should take place next January.
A black hole in the middle of the galaxy
Astronomers are celebrating another success these days. European Southern Observatory has obtained the sharpest images of the area around the supermassive black hole located in the center of our galaxy. The images show an image 20 times larger than previously taken.
“We want to know more about the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. What is its mass? Is it rotating? Are the stars around it behaving as we expect from Einstein’s theory of general relativity? The best way to answer these questions is to watch the stars on “We have now shown that we can do this with greater precision than ever before,” said Reinhard Genzel, who was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Black Hole.
Images of stars around a supermassive black hole in the center of the Milky Way
Zdroj:
European Southern Observatory
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