- 4435
- SUN'S CORONA
PROBE - to touch the Sun? -
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (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.
------------------------- 4435 - SUN'S CORONA PROBE - to touch the Sun?
- The Parker Solar Probe study collected data
on coronal mass ejections (CMEs) over a four-year period. It holds the potential to help scientists and
the public better understand the CMEs and how they contribute to space weather.
-
- Parker Solar Probe has blasted by Coronal
Mass Ejections 28 times in the last 4 Years.
This science data is a treasure trove as it samples the solar wind at
uncharted radial distances from the Sun.
It is providing 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. That was the motivation for this project to compile
a catalog of CME events that PSP measured from 2018-2022 to investigate different perspectives of CME
evolution in a statistical manner.
-
- 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 28 CMEs
successfully measured various aspects of CMEs, specifically pertaining to how
they change as they travel farther from the Sun. They observed the internal CME magnetic
structure to become more complex with radial distance. The CME magnetic field
strength decreased at a lower rate than previous studies. 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 found within the compression
region.
-
- While the study of CMEs falls under the
scientific field of solar physics, which studies how our entire Sun functions,
scientists also 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.
-
- 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, witch
traditionally only being visible in the northern and southern latitudes.
-
- Understanding the evolution of CMEs is of
paramount importance for space weather operations. This statistical
investigation of different aspects of CME evolution is a step towards that as
it validates previous approximations but also raises new questions that need to
be explored further.
-
- 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.
-
- The reason why PSP can travel so close to
our Sun is due to its state-of-the-art solar shield comprised of a
4.5-inch-thich carbon-composite shield capable of withstanding scorching
temperatures up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
- While PSP has already broken records
regarding its distance to the Sun, PSP is slated to come within 3.83 million
miles during its mission, which is planned to last a total of seven years.
-
- PSP is so important for us to advance our
current understanding of CME evolution and space weather. 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.
-
- The initial characterization is made based
on CME remote-sensing imaging. 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. This is how PSP is contributing to develop a more
accurate picture of the CME propagation and evolution from closer to the Sun to
Earth.
-
- 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.
-
- Space weather is constantly monitored to
determine how much damage can be caused to Earth surface power grids and
satellite communications. But aside from monitoring space weather, why is it so
important to study CMEs?
-
- 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 thus required to improve
the current status quo of space weather operations.
-
-
April 16, 2023 SUN'S CORONA
PROBE - to touch the Sun? 4435
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------- Comments appreciated and Pass it on to
whomever is interested. ---
--- Some reviews are at: -------------- http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
-- email feedback, corrections, request for
copies or Index of all reviews
--- to:
------
jamesdetrick@comcast.net
------ “Jim Detrick” -----------
--------------------- --- Tuesday, April 16, 2024
---------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment