This ninth pass is only 2.6 million miles from the ultimate closest approach of 3.8 million miles from the Sun’s surface, which Parker Solar Probe will reach in December 2024.
Here is the latest -- on about the middle of year three, of this seven year mission:
. . .NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is speeding busily through its ninth science-gathering solar encounter, heading toward a close approach of the Sun on Aug. 9 that will take it to within about 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers, or 14.97 solar radii) of the solar surface. . . .
“We expect the spacecraft to be flying through the acceleration zone of the perpetual flow of charged particles that make up the solar wind. Solar activity is also picking up, which is promising for studying larger-scale solar wind structures, like coronal mass ejections, and the energetic particles associated with them.
“But you never know what else you’ll find exploring this close to the Sun,” he added, “and that’s always exciting. . . .”
Now you know -- onward, grinning. . . with baby girl -- now a full-on kindergartener(!) -- here mañana! [Update: my youngest guy just crashed in a road race -- as did his partner. . . in Oregon. All okay, but headed to ER now. . . yikes.]
नमस्ते
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