A NASA spacecraft is about to supply astronomers an epic early Christmas present with the closest ever flyby of the photo voltaic on Dec. 24, nevertheless must you’re questioning exactly when the daring picture voltaic encounter will occur, do not fret. We’ve you coated.
The NASA spacecraft, often called the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe, is on target for what shall be a record-setting shut flyby of the photo voltaic on Christmas Eve, when it may fly by the star’s outer setting at 6:53 a.m. EST (1153 GMT) and cross inside 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) of the star’s flooring The flyby is the final word trial for the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe, which has made a set of ever-closer swings by the star (and seven flybys of Venus) on its mission to know the photo voltaic like not at all sooner than.
“No human-made object has ever handed this close to a star, so Parker will actually be returning information from uncharted territory,” said Nick Pinkine, Parker Photograph voltaic Probe mission operations supervisor on the Johns Hopkins Utilized Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) in Maryland, in a press launch. “We’re excited to take heed to once more from the spacecraft when it swings once more throughout the photo voltaic.”
What time will NASA’s Parker Photograph voltaic Probe fly by the photo voltaic?
As talked about above, the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe’s closest photo voltaic flyby will occur on Tuesday, Dec. 24, at 6:53 a.m. EST (1153 GMT). At that precise time, the spacecraft shall be at its closest stage it may ever be to the photo voltaic: 3.8 million miles.
The Christmas Eve flyby will mark Parker’s twenty second shut encounter with the photo voltaic since its launch in 2018 (the first time it “touched the photo voltaic” was in 2021). The spacecraft shall be flying at about 430,000 mph (692,000 kph), a mind-blowing tempo which it reached by accelerating up by means of gravity assists from its seven Venus flybys, most these days in November.
All through the Dec. 24 photo voltaic flyby, the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe will fly by the photo voltaic’s corona, its super-hot outer setting, to verify exactly why the world is so scorching and totally different picture voltaic phenomena. The spacecraft has already set a model new report as a result of the closest human-built object to fly so close to the photo voltaic, and is flying seven situations nearer to the star than each different spacecraft.
Can I watch the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe photo voltaic flyby on-line?
No, you may be unable to watch the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe’s photo voltaic flyby dwell on-line.
In distinction to NASA rocket launches and Mars landings, the photo voltaic flyby will not be webcast or livestreamed in precise time. As an alternative, NASA and the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe mission group are providing updates on the spacecraft’s standing on-line in a variety of areas.
You could observe NASA’s Parker Photograph voltaic Probe mission weblog (the corporate’s mission website may be place for particulars) or uncover updates on the JHUAPL Parker Photograph voltaic Probe website. You might also uncover updates on NASA’s @NASASun X net web page.
While you can not watch the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe’s flyby dwell, chances are you’ll observe the spacecraft’s progress on-line. NASA’s Eyes On The Photograph voltaic System Parker Photograph voltaic Probe net web page permits clients to watch the spacecraft and see the place it is any any given time.
JHUAPL moreover has a superb walkthrough of the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe photo voltaic flyby often called “A Star Explored,” that serves as a superb data to the flyby and mission.
How scorching will Parker Photograph voltaic Probe get all through its photo voltaic flyby?
Christmas Eve may be time to roast chestnuts on the fireside (or presumably toast marshmallows), nevertheless Parker Photograph voltaic Probe scientists have constructed their spacecraft to stay away from getting burned by the photo voltaic.
All through its Dec. 24 flyby, the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe is anticipated to experience temperatures of as a lot as 1,800 ranges Fahrenheit (980 ranges Celsius) as a result of it swings by the photo voltaic. Nonetheless the spacecraft can take the heat.
The Parker Photograph voltaic Probe’s spacecraft components and science gadgets are protected by heat shield that is 8 ft large (2.4 meters) and 4.5 inches (11 centimeters) thick. The shield, product of a form of carbon foam, is positioned on the sun-facing side of the spacecraft and is designed to resist temperatures of as a lot as 2,500 F (1,377 C).
“One yard behind that, the place the physique of the spacecraft resides, it is nearly room temperature,” JHUAPL mission officers wrote in an overview. “And all its methods would possibly need to work utterly for Parker to assemble information from this dynamic environment near a star the place no spacecraft has dared journey.”
And in case you’re questioning regarding the max temperature fo the photo voltaic, our data on how scorching is the photo voltaic is can reply these questions.
How prolonged is Parker Photograph voltaic Probe’s photo voltaic flyby?
This Christmas Eve photo voltaic flyby is pretty fast. (What else would you anticipate from a spacecraft touring at 430,000 mph?) Nonetheless for the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe mission group, the exact encounter will remaining over per week.
“That’s one occasion of NASA’s daring missions, doing one factor that no one else has ever carried out sooner than to answer longstanding questions on our universe,” said Arik Posner, Parker Photograph voltaic Probe program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, inside the Dec. 20 assertion. “We is not going to wait to acquire that first standing substitute from the spacecraft and start receiving the science information inside the coming weeks.”
Here’s a rundown of when to anticipate updates from the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe.
Friday, Dec. 20
For Parker’s mission controllers, the encounter began in earnest on Friday, Dec. 20. That’s when the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe despatched its closing signal to Earth indicating it was beginning the flyby.
“Mission operators on the Johns Hopkins Utilized Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, acquired a beacon transmission from Parker, by NASA’s Deep Space Group superior in Canberra, Australia, at 7:20 p.m. EST proper this second indicating all spacecraft methods have been working often,” NASA wrote in a substitute on Dec. 20.
That’s the remaining NASA and JHUAPL scientists will hear from the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe until after the flyby, Space.com has realized.
Tuesday, Dec. 24
That’s Parker Photograph voltaic Flyby day. The mission group shall be out of contact with the spacecraft, nonetheless it must be executing its programmed actions to hold out the flyby.
On the time of the flyby, be looking for a potential video or assertion launch from NASA and JHUAPL mission group members to mark the event.
Friday, Dec. 27
Solely on Friday, Dec. 27, do NASA and JHUAPL mission controllers anticipate to take heed to their first signal from the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe after its flyby.
Don’t anticipate so much, like new pictures or photo voltaic motion pictures. This study in from the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe is anticipated at midnight and shall be a beacon solely to level the spacecraft made it by the flyby and embrace some standing on its “primary nicely being.”
Thursday, Jan. 1, 2025
Happy New 12 months! To ring in 2025, the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe is anticipated to ship its first telemetry and “housekeeping” information once more to its mission operations center at JHUAPL.
The timing of this tag up from Parker is fluid as it may rely on the place the probe is in its path throughout the photo voltaic, JHUAPL officers knowledgeable Space.com. Nonetheless, the contact proper right here will as soon as extra be a nicely being checkup for Parker, allowing its mission group to look at the spacecraft’s methods and instrument nicely being, along with if its information recorders are full from the flyby.
The first science information downloads from Parker (like images or totally different observations) are often not anticipated until late January, in response to JHUAPL.
What happens after the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe’s photo voltaic flyby?
The Christmas Eve picture voltaic flyby of the Parker Photograph voltaic Probe may be its closest photo voltaic flyby of its mission, nonetheless it is not going to be the ultimate.
In all, the $1.5 billion Parker Photograph voltaic Probe mission is designed to make a minimal of 24 shut flybys of the photo voltaic. This Dec. 24 flyby is No. 22. After this encounter, the spacecraft is anticipated prime make a minimal of two additional photo voltaic flybys sooner than its seven-year main mission ends in 2025.
The next photo voltaic flyby by Parker shall be on March 22, 2025. The final word scheduled flyby, often called “Perihelion 24,” shall be on June 19, 2025. Every of those future flybys are anticipated to technique the photo voltaic from an identical distance as a result of the Dec. 24 event.
“The spacecraft will keep on this orbit for the remainder of its main mission, ending two additional perihelia at concerning the similar distance and tempo — a report 430,000 miles (692,018 kilometers) per hour — in March and June 2025,” JUAPL officers wrote in November after the final word Venus flyby. “After that, the group will resolve whether or not or to not preserve the spacecraft in that orbit or reposition it.”