Parker Solar Probe solves mystery of fast solar wind source.
TL;DR
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has identified the source of the "fast" solar wind, which can disrupt communication and power infrastructure and pose a threat to satellites, spacecraft and even astronauts. The spacecraft tracked the solar wind back to its origin, "coronal holes" in the sun's atmosphere, and found that the streams of high-energy particles that make up the solar wind match so-called "supergranulation flows" within these holes. This discovery could aid the prediction of potentially disruptive solar storms.
Topics:sciencescience-and-astronomy#coronal-holes#magnetic-reconnection#nasa#parker-solar-probe#science-and-astronomy#solar-wind
- NASA's sun-kissing Parker Solar Probe finds source of 'fast' solar wind Space.com
- First mission to ‘touch’ the sun catches the solar wind CNN
- NASA's Solar Probe Solves a Longtime Mystery About the Sun Gizmodo
- A Craft Has Flown Close Enough to The Sun to Detect The Source of Elusive Solar Winds ScienceAlert
- Interchange reconnection as the source of the fast solar wind within coronal holes Nature.com
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