Posted on 08/12/2018 12:15:42 AM PDT by Textide
Live thread for the launch of the Parker Solar Probe at 3:30AM ET.
Parker Solar Probe: NASA web page
Why do we study the Sun and the solar wind?
The Sun is the only star we can study up close. By studying this star we live with, we learn more about stars throughout the universe.
The Sun is a source of light and heat for life on Earth. The more we know about it, the more we can understand how life on Earth developed.
The Sun also affects Earth in less familiar ways. It is the source of the solar wind; a flow of ionized gases from the Sun that streams past Earth at speeds of more than 500 km per second (a million miles per hour).
Disturbances in the solar wind shake Earth's magnetic field and pump energy into the radiation belts, part of a set of changes in near-Earth space known as space weather.
Space weather can change the orbits of satellites, shorten their lifetimes, or interfere with onboard electronics. The more we learn about what causes space weather and how to predict it the more we can protect the satellites we depend on.
The solar wind also fills up much of the solar system, dominating the space environment far past Earth. As we send spacecraft and astronauts further and further from home, we must understand this space environment just as early seafarers needed to understand the ocean.
95% probability of liftoff.
Second time’s a charm.
Polling responses all “Go”!
Go for launch
Looking good so far. Boosters jettisoned.
Pretty launch. Have gotten spoiled by the SpaceX cameras, but it was nice that they followed it through the booster separations.
It was a pretty launch. Thanks for posting the links!
NASA was “it” when I grew up and I’ve had friends who worked for them over the years and Dad’s job entailed testing with several of their programs. This feel like “home” tonight. :-)
Lucky you! One thing I’ve never had the pleasure of doing is seeing a launch in person, even through binoculars.
And what a cool bus tour. My blue eyes are green with envy.
I like how the rocket looks like it’s catching fire before it lifts off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dm4WUx7z1A
Thanks for the link to video! Really beautiful liftoff that I’m saving.
Lucky you! One thing Ive never had the pleasure of doing is seeing a launch in person, even through binoculars.
And what a cool bus tour. My blue eyes are green with envy.
I am truly blessed, and wish you and yours could have joined us. I have seen several night launches from my home in Orlando, and one shuttle daytime launch from the Orlando airport terminal.
my sister and I had tickets for preferred location to watch a night launch of the shuttle, but it was scrubbed. bummer, big traffic jam for nothing.
Seeing a launch has been on my bucket list for years but I could never get down there. Even had two friends who worked on the Shuttle program who said I was welcome to stay with them at Cocoa but it never worked out. Then they killed the Shuttle program and he was laid off first - she was laid off shortly afterwards.
Some things just weren’t meant to be. *sigh*
This probe will be a cool one to keep tabs on. And we don’t have to wait NEARLY as long as we did to see Pluto up close. That was a LONG wait!
When is it supposed to hit the sun?
With SpaceX doing what they’re with unmanned satellite and ISS resupply shots coupled with the upcoming Boeing and SpaceX human-rated test flights, you may get your chance yet.
I know it’s not the shuttle, but a rocket’s a rocket. I’d love to see a SpaceX shot with my own Mark 1 eyeballs rather than on a computer screen.
Thanks for posting that link, I woke up just after the launch and missed it. What a beautiful launch! Watching the live stream now. This is amazing.
Just heard a great explanation on the Nasa live stream of how close that really is, I'll do my best to capture it completely here:
Imagine the Earth is in the end zone of a football field. On the other side of the football field is the Sun.
The Parker Solar Probe will get all the way to the four-yard line of the Sun. In football speak, that's easily well within the "red zone" and quite close to the sun.
I thought that was a great analogy by the woman from Nasa (don't remember her name) to explain it to us non-science types.
He's the reason this mission to the sun is happening in the first place.
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