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Nasa reveals important update on Parker spacecraft’s historic closest-ever approach to the Sun days after daring mission
The U.S. Sun ^ | December 27, 2024 | Millie Turner, Senior Technology & Science Reporter

Posted on 12/27/2024 9:06:01 AM PST by Red Badger

The Parker Solar Probe is safe and functioning normally after completing the closest-ever pass of the Sun by any human-made object, Nasa has announced.

VIDEO AT LINK............

The daring spacecraft flew just 3.8million miles (6.1mkm) from the Sun's surface on 24 December.

That might sound like a lot, but it's a stone's throw given that the Sun is 91.4 million miles from Earth.

Nasa launched Parker back in 2018 to examine our local star, in hopes it would reveal more about solar activity.

The nail-biting mission took the Parker probe out of communications range with experts on Earth.

The operations team at the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory in Maryland received the signal from the probe shortly before midnight on Thursday.

The signal, a "beacon tone", confirmed the probe survived the trip.

Nasa launched Parker back in 2018 to examine our local star, in hopes it would reveal more about solar activity.

The nail-biting mission took the Parker probe out of communications range with experts on Earth.

The operations team at the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory in Maryland received the signal from the probe shortly before midnight on Thursday.

The signal, a "beacon tone", confirmed the probe survived the trip.

In a statement, Nasa said: “This closeup study of the sun allows Parker solar probe to take measurements that help scientists better understand how material in this region gets heated to millions of degrees, trace the origin of the solar wind (a continuous flow of material escaping the sun), and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to near light speed.”

The space agency agency said it should receive data from the probe on 1 January - after being sent across tens of millions of miles of space.

The seven-year mission is scheduled to end around September 2025.

The distance is seven times closer to the Sun than any other spacecraft has ventured to date.

While moving at up to 430,000mph (692,000k/ph), Parker endured temperatures of up to 982C (1,800F) as it dipped into the Sun's outer atmosphere.

The probe is kept safe by the Thermal Protection System, an 8ft heat shield that weighs around 160lbs.


TOPICS: Astronomy; History; Military/Veterans; Science
KEYWORDS: thesun
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1 posted on 12/27/2024 9:06:01 AM PST by Red Badger
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To: MtnClimber; SunkenCiv; rktman; mowowie; SuperLuminal; Cottonbay

Parker Probe Ping!.................


2 posted on 12/27/2024 9:06:42 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

It’s still ticking.


3 posted on 12/27/2024 9:10:07 AM PST by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion, or satire, or both.)
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To: Red Badger
Parker Probe Ping

Next stop the Planet Uranus.

4 posted on 12/27/2024 9:10:27 AM PST by spokeshave (Proud Boys, Angry Dads. Grumpy Grandads & Curmudgeons)
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To: Red Badger

The Sun sun exclusive reporting!


5 posted on 12/27/2024 9:19:53 AM PST by smokingfrog ( sleep with one eye open (<o> --- )
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To: smokingfrog

Live from the Sun!...............


6 posted on 12/27/2024 9:25:50 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: spokeshave

Johnny on the spot, you!


7 posted on 12/27/2024 9:26:36 AM PST by one guy in new jersey
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To: Red Badger

Close up pictures of the sun or it didn’t happen... :)


8 posted on 12/27/2024 9:27:21 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: smokingfrog

How apropos 😉


9 posted on 12/27/2024 9:27:47 AM PST by one guy in new jersey
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To: Openurmind

You must be from Missouri


10 posted on 12/27/2024 9:28:35 AM PST by one guy in new jersey
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To: Red Badger

How is an inanimate object “daring”?


11 posted on 12/27/2024 9:29:28 AM PST by HonorInPa
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To: Openurmind

Sorry, they went by at night.................


12 posted on 12/27/2024 9:32:22 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: one guy in new jersey

“You must be from Missouri.”

No, I just do not trust government. They are thieves. They would invent this whole “expedition” just to steal money and use it somewhere else. Beginning to end the whole mission might be fiction.

There is absolutely no reason they cannot take a few image shots of the Sun while it is there. They have been doing it with probes for decades. Why would they purposely miss such a great opportunity for images? If it is real they wouldn’t!

So if there are no images it never happened. Would they do this? You bet... I’ll believe it is not a scam when they show pictures that only the probe could have taken from a close flyby.


13 posted on 12/27/2024 9:42:10 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: Red Badger

“Sorry, they went by at night.................”

Oh damn..... They couldn’t even time it right... lol


14 posted on 12/27/2024 9:43:45 AM PST by Openurmind
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To: Red Badger

when it comes to the sun, what more information could they possibly get flying that close that they couldnt get at 10 miles away?? but i’m surprised nothing melted. I assumed the sun was hot enough to melt anything that came 1000 miles close to it...


15 posted on 12/27/2024 9:50:57 AM PST by sit-rep
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To: sit-rep

It was made of extremely exotic metals that could withstand the temps.

That the electronics survived is quite an accomplishment..............


16 posted on 12/27/2024 9:56:05 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Stars... they only come out at night.

“Don’t be the rule be the exception!” ~ Kris Kringle, 1970


17 posted on 12/27/2024 10:00:41 AM PST by Ezekiel (🆘️ "Come fly with US". 🔴 Ingenuity -- because the Son of David begins with MARS ♂️, aka every man)
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To: Red Badger

No signs of life on the surface have been reported but they haven’t checked the interior. And we’ve been worried about a secret Nazi moon base...


18 posted on 12/27/2024 10:05:20 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: Openurmind
Although Sheila's view is from a MUCH FURTHER DISTANCE now, she still left a note to NASA to make sure they plucked up the USA flag they left the last "trip!!!!"

Yea, I really had to stretch for that one!

Openurmind, thanx for your lead in! Actually, it was almost to easy.

19 posted on 12/27/2024 10:13:39 AM PST by Freeper (My authority? I can read, do logic and math plus words have meanings!)
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To: Openurmind

Thus Guy is perhaps more naturally amenable than you to the notion that the Parker Probe is legit and survived the close fly-by to the Sun (at 430,000 mph!).

Heat shield technology is incredibly impressive these days. Being on the “cool” side of (i.e., behind) a properly-designed and -constructed heat shield, you (if you are an intricate mechanical or electronic device onboard the main Parker Probe spacecraft) might not even guess at the scale of the pyrotechnics happening mere feet away.


20 posted on 12/27/2024 10:15:11 AM PST by one guy in new jersey
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