NASA’s Parker Solar Probe enters the Sun’s upper atmosphere

NASA has announced that the Parker Solar Probe has flown through the Sun’s upper atmosphere, the corona, for the first time. While there, the probe sampled particles and magnetic fields and captured historic, close-up photos of coronal streamers. In 2018, launched the Parker Solar Probe aims to unravel the mysteries of the Sun by travelling closer to it. After three years of launching, Parker has finally arrived in the solar atmosphere. Parker Solar Probe has flown through the Sun’s upper atmosphere for the first time in history – the corona. The probe sampled particles and magnetic fields there.

The new milestone marks one major step for Parker Solar Probe and one giant leap for solar science. Just as landing on the Moon allowed scientists to understand how it was formed, touching the very stuff the Sun is made of will help scientists uncover critical information about our closest star and its influence on the solar system.