The first images sent by the probe that “touched” the sun

In recent days, the Parker Solar Probe, entering the upper atmosphere of the parent star of the Solar System, “touched” the Sun.

Today arrived the first wonderful pictures taken by the probe as it approached the sun. The photos were taken during a period of time ranging from 8 to 12 August, It was captured while the spacecraft was moving at 529,200 kilometers per hour.

In the various montages carried out by NASA in addition to the Sun, We can also observe the Milky Way, Earth, the planets Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Venus. Thanks to important work by astrophysicist Grant Tremblay of the Harvard and Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, we can identify the planets featured in the video.

It’s the first time we’ve been able to see the crown feathers up close

NASA itself explains the significance of these images: “Passing the crown, the Parker Solar Probe flew near structures called coronal feathersIts spokesperson announced. Coronal feathers are structures that are shaped like long, thin strips which push out from the north and south poles of the sun.

“Capturing these images was possible thanks to the fact that the spacecraft flew above and below these structures. It wasn’t possible before to observe the crown feathers so closelyThen conclude.

The Parker Solar Probe mission will last another four years, and in 2025 it will pass “very close” to the Sun.

The Parker Solar Probe mission is not yet complete: it will last another four years, and the last three steps, scheduled for late 2024 and early 2025, will be particularly interesting. They will bring the probe less than 6 million kilometers from the surface of the Sun.