It's A Great Thing.....

It's a great thing.....

New Science from our Mission to Touch the Sun

In August 2018, our Parker Solar Probe mission launched to space, soon becoming the closest-ever spacecraft from the Sun. Now, scientists have announced their first discoveries from this exploration of our star!

The Sun may look calm to us here on Earth, but it’s an active star, unleashing powerful bursts of light, deluges of particles moving near the speed of light and billion-ton clouds of magnetized material. All of this activity can affect our technology here on Earth and in space.

Parker Solar Probe’s main science goals are to understand the physics that drive this activity — and its up-close look has given us a brand-new perspective. Here are a few highlights from what we’ve learned so far.

1. Surprising events in the solar wind

The Sun releases a continual outflow of magnetized material called the solar wind, which shapes space weather near Earth. Observed near Earth, the solar wind is a relatively uniform flow of plasma, with occasional turbulent tumbles. Closer to the solar wind’s source, Parker Solar Probe saw a much different picture: a complicated, active system.

One type of event in particular drew the eye of the science teams: flips in the direction of the magnetic field, which flows out from the Sun, embedded in the solar wind. These reversals — dubbed “switchbacks” — last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes as they flow over Parker Solar Probe. During a switchback, the magnetic field whips back on itself until it is pointed almost directly back at the Sun.

The exact source of the switchbacks isn’t yet understood, but Parker Solar Probe’s measurements have allowed scientists to narrow down the possibilities — and observations from the mission’s 21 remaining solar flybys should help scientists better understand these events.

2. Seeing tiny particle events

The Sun can accelerate tiny electrons and ions into storms of energetic particles that rocket through the solar system at nearly the speed of light. These particles carry a lot of energy, so they can damage spacecraft electronics and even endanger astronauts, especially those in deep space, outside the protection of Earth’s magnetic field — and the short warning time for such particles makes them difficult to avoid.

Energetic particles from the Sun impact a detector on ESA & NASA’s SOHO satellite.

Parker Solar Probe’s energetic particle instruments have measured several never-before-seen events so small that all trace of them is lost before they reach Earth. These instruments have also measured a rare type of particle burst with a particularly high number of heavier elements — suggesting that both types of events may be more common than scientists previously thought.

3. Rotation of the solar wind

Near Earth, we see the solar wind flowing almost straight out from the Sun in all directions. But the Sun rotates as it releases the solar wind, and before it breaks free, the wind spins along in sync with the Sun’s surface. For the first time, Parker was able to observe the solar wind while it was still rotating – starting more than 20 million miles from the Sun.

The strength of the circulation was stronger than many scientists had predicted, but it also transitioned more quickly than predicted to an outward flow, which helps mask the effects of that fast rotation from the vantage point where we usually see them from, near Earth, about 93 million miles away. Understanding this transition point in the solar wind is key to helping us understand how the Sun sheds energy, with implications for the lifecycles of stars and the formation of protoplanetary disks.

4. Hints of a dust-free zone

Parker also saw the first direct evidence of dust starting to thin out near the Sun – an effect that has been theorized for nearly a century, but has been impossible to measure until now. Space is awash in dust, the cosmic crumbs of collisions that formed planets, asteroids, comets and other celestial bodies billions of years ago. Scientists have long suspected that, close to the Sun, this dust would be heated to high temperatures by powerful sunlight, turning it into a gas and creating a dust-free region around the Sun.

For the first time, Parker’s imagers saw the cosmic dust begin to thin out a little over 7 million miles from the Sun. This decrease in dust continues steadily to the current limits of Parker Solar Probe’s instruments, measurements at a little over 4 million miles from the Sun. At that rate of thinning, scientists expect to see a truly dust-free zone starting a little more than 2-3 million miles from the Sun — meaning the spacecraft could observe the dust-free zone as early as 2020, when its sixth flyby of the Sun will carry it closer to our star than ever before.

These are just a few of Parker Solar Probe’s first discoveries, and there’s plenty more science to come throughout the mission! For the latest on our Sun, follow @NASASun on Twitter and NASA Sun Science on Facebook.

What’s aboard SpaceX’s Dragon?

On Dec 5. 2019, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying a Dragon cargo capsule filled with dozens of scientific experiments. Those experiments look at everything from malting barley in microgravity to the spread of fire.

Not only are the experiments helping us better understand life in space, they also are giving us a better picture of our planet and benefiting humanity back on Earth.

📸 A Better Picture of Earth 🌏

Every material on the Earth’s surface – soil, rocks, vegetation, snow, ice and human-made objects – reflects a unique spectrum of light. The Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI) takes advantage of this to identify specific materials in an image. It could be useful for tasks such as resource exploration and applications in agriculture, forestry and other environmental areas.

🌱 Malting Barley in Microgravity 🌱

Many studies of plants in space focus on how they grow in microgravity. The Malting ABI Voyager Barley Seeds in Microgravity experiment is looking at a different aspect of plants in space: the malting process. Malting converts starches from grain into various sugars that can be used for brewing, distilling and food production. The study compares malt produced in space and on the ground for genetic and structural changes, and aims to identify ways to adapt it for nutritional use on spaceflights.

🛰️ A First for Mexico 🛰️

AztechSat-1, the first satellite built by students in Mexico for launch from the space station, is smaller than a shoebox but represents a big step for its builders. Students from a multidisciplinary team at Universidad Popular Autónoma del Estado de Puebla in Puebla, Mexico, built the CubeSat. This investigation demonstrates communication within a satellite network in low-Earth orbit. Such communication could reduce the need for ground stations, lowering the cost and increasing the number of data downloads possible for satellite applications.

🚀 Checking for Leaks 🚀

Nobody wants a spacecraft to spring a leak – but if it happens, the best thing you can do is locate and fix it, fast. That’s why we launched the first Robotic External Leak Locator (RELL) in 2015. Operators can use RELL to quickly detect leaks outside of station and help engineers formulate a plan to resolve an issue. On this latest commercial resupply mission, we launched the Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS), a docking station that allows the RELL units to be stored on the outside of space station, making it quicker and simpler to deploy the instruments.

🔥 The Spread of Fire 🔥

Understanding how fire spreads in space is crucial for the safety of future astronauts and for controlling fire here on Earth. The Confined Combustion investigation examines the behavior of flame as it spreads in differently-shaped spaces in microgravity. Studying flames in microgravity gives researchers a chance to look at the underlying physics and basic principles of combustion by removing gravity from the equation.

💪 Staying Strong 💪

Here on Earth you might be told to drink milk to grow up with strong bones, but in space, you need a bit more than that. Astronauts in space have to exercise for hours a day to prevent substantial bone and muscle loss. A new experiment, Rodent Research-19, is seeing if there is another way to prevent the loss by targeting signaling pathways in your body at the molecular level. The results could also support treatments for a wide range of conditions that cause muscle and bone loss back here on Earth.

Want to learn about more investigations heading to the space station (or even ones currently under way)? Make sure to follow @ISS_Research on Twitter and Space Station Research and Technology News on Facebook.

If you want to see the International Space Station with your own eyes, check out Spot the Station to see it pass over your town.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

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charupic

4 years ago

2016 a precies moment of time. Remember juncture, these are the days we try to recreate. .. . . . . . . . . . #moment #love #instagood #me #tbt #photooftheday #instamood #tweegram #picoftheday #beautiful #instadaily #summer #follow #igdaily #bestoftheday #followme #follow #followforfollow #followback #followers #follow4follow #followher #follower #followhim #followall #followbackteam #followbackalways #follows https://www.instagram.com/p/CBnGpOUDE2Y/?igshid=107bom4vdyheu

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BEAUTIFUL!!! love summer me tbt followers follow photooftheday moment instagood bestoftheday picoftheday follows tweegram igdaily instadaily followforfollow follow4follow followher instamood followme followback follower followhim followall followbackteam followbackalways

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charupic

5 years ago

International Astronomy Day 2020 is celebrated on May 2. Take some time away from all the current distractions and look up at the amazing stars in the sky. International Astronomy Day is celebrated twice a year one in autumn and another in spring. The world will celebrate the next Astronomy Day on September 26. ---TheWorldNeedsAmazing--- Camera : Nikon Aperture : f/4 ISO. : 1600 . . . . . . . . . . . . #internationalastronomyday #astronomy #scicomm #astronomyphotography #astronomyday #astronomypictureoftheday #yourshotphotographer #stargazing #nightshooters #nightskyphotography #mountainlife #travellerlife #travelling #traveller_stories #travels #travellersdiary #traveller_india #photoeveryday #photoshot #shots #image #click #mountaineering #universe #scicommindia #graphicdesign #travelphotography #nikonphotography #nikon #nikonshot https://www.instagram.com/p/B_r2FS_j8Ad/?igshid=1kogdhu4nars4

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charupic

5 years ago

Pink Super Moon 2020 Last Night Shot in Quarantine Day 15, 8th April. The biggest, brightest full moon of 2020. . . Camera : FufiFilm Exposure : 1/320 ISO. : 100 . . . . . . . . . . #skylover #pinksupermoon2020 #pinkmoon #moon #moonphases #supermoon2020 (at Aligarh) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xS5u2jNGO/?igshid=zy39xdaksc3e

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charupic

4 years ago

༼ʘ̚ل͜ʘ̚༽

So we all know this has been one hell of a ride. November was hard. March through October was hard. We’re not expecting December to step out of line. So here’s a little something to celebrate just turning off our cerebral cortexes for a moment. It’s Tuesday. Enjoy the void.

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charupic

4 years ago

#environment #nature #lockdown2020 #sustainability #climatechange #ecofriendly #savetheplanet #zerowaste #sustainable #gogreen #earth #green #recycle #eco #plasticfree #globalwarming #pollution #reuse #climate #sustainableliving #environmentallyfriendly #art #love #photography #water #conservation #naturephotography #vegan #recycling #plastic https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSQHzujftm/?igshid=1alb7fzx0wz12

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art love nature☁️ conservation environment photography eco Water green sustainability vegan earth savetheplanet climate sustainable plastic recycling Reuse Recycle naturephotography climatechange ecofriendly pollution globalwarming sustainableliving GoGreen plasticfree lockdown2020 zerowaste environmentallyfriendly

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