- 4423
- PARKER SOLAR
PROBE? - Parker Solar Probe was blasted by Coronal
Mass Ejections 28 times in 4 years. PSP
was launched on August 12, 2018, with the goal of becoming the first spacecraft
to touch the Sun while teaching us more about our host star than any spacecraft
or solar instrument in human history.
------------------------- 4423 - PARKER SOLAR PROBE?
- Incredible data the PARKER SOLAR
PROBE has collected on coronal
mass ejections (CMEs) over this four-year period. There have been numerous case studies of
coronal mass ejections (CMEs) using PSP observations that provided new insights
into the evolution of CMEs as the structures propagate farther from the Sun. We
are in the sixth year of the PSP mission which provided us with a reasonable
number of CME events to perform a statistical investigation.
-
- PSP collected direct measurements of 32
interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) between October 2018 and August
2022 and distances from the Sun ranging between 0.23 and 0.83 astronomical
units (AU), with 1 AU being the distance between the Earth and the Sun, or
approximately 93 million miles.
-
- Of the 32 measurements, four were discarded
due to gaps in the data, leaving 28 CMEs successfully measured. The study’s
objectives were to identify various aspects of CMEs, specifically pertaining to
how they change as they travel farther from the Sun, also known as radial
distance.
-
- Astronomers observed that the internal CME
magnetic structure to become more complex with radial distance. We found the
CME magnetic field strength to decrease at a lower rate than previous studies.
We also saw that the expansion of the CME is important in the formation of the
compression region ahead of it and the internal magnetic field has an influence
on the short-scale fluctuations we find within the compression region.
-
- Scientists classify CMEs as part of space
weather, which studies the activity on the Sun’s surface and how it affects the
surrounding environment. Space weather can wreak havoc on electronics,
specifically communication satellites and power stations on Earth, with one of
the most notable space weather events occurring in September 1859 known as the
Carrington Event, which was caused by a massive solar storm that wreaked havoc
on worldwide electrical grids and created spectacular auroras across the globe,
as well, with the latter traditionally only being visible in the northern and
southern latitudes.
-
- Understanding the evolution of CMEs is of
paramount importance for space weather operations. After having its first solar encounter in
October 2018, PSP has continued to smash records regarding its distance from
our Sun. This includes achieving its closest distance of 4.51 million miles on
September 27, 2023, which is slated to be surpassed after its last flyby of
Venus in November 2024.
-
- Science objectives for PSP include
determining the solar corona processes responsible for producing the solar
wind, gaining insight into the solar plasma and magnetic field properties, and
learning more about additional energy particles emitted by the Sun.
-
- The PSP can travel close to our Sun because
its state-of-the-art solar shield comprised of a 11.43-centimeter-thick
carbon-composite shield capable of withstanding scorching temperatures up to
1,377 degrees Celsius.
-
- PSP is slated to come within 3.83 million
miles during its mission, which is planned to last a total of seven years. The questions of interest for space weather
are will a CME impact Earth and whether it will have a southward field
component to interact with the northward magnetic field of Earth. Our modeling
frameworks depend on an initial characterization of the CME closer to the Sun
(within 20 solar radii) based on which the models project the CME parameters
when it impacts Earth.
-
- What PSP is doing is providing direct
measurements of CMEs in the initial phases of propagation. Adding to this are
the widespread radial observations of PSP to make our statistical
approximations more robust.
-
- CMEs have been observed for thousands of
years in the form of auroras when the solar wind interacts with the Earth’s
magnetic field near the planet’s surface. They are produced from the Sun’s
corona in the form of massive discharges when solar plasma interacts with the
Sun’s massive magnetic field and their velocities can range from 155 miles per
second to almost 1,864 miles per second.
-
- CMEs are monitored by the Space Weather
Prediction Center with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
using a combination of ground- and space-based solar observatories. Space weather is constantly monitored to
determine how much damage can be caused to Earth surface power grids and
satellite communications.
-
- CMEs are crucial for the existence of our
Sun. CMEs appear as a valve that
releases the built-up magnetic field from the Sun without which the Sun will
rip itself apart. But the investigation of CME science also has important
societal relevance. CMEs drive the strongest solar storms that can wreak havoc
through impacting power grids and telecommunication networks.
-
- CMEs can also damage orbiting satellites
and technological infrastructure. CMEs are now counted among the major natural
hazards as well. A more in-depth understanding of CMEs from initiation to
propagation to evolution along the Sun-Earth line is required to improve the
current status quo of space weather operations.
-
- What new discoveries will researchers make
about coronal mass ejections in the coming years and decades? Only time will
tell, and this is why we science!
-
-
April 7, 2023 PARKER
SOLAR PROBE? 4423
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--------------------- --- Monday, April 8, 2024
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