Parker Solar Probe

Why in news?

• The Parker Solar Probe, launched by NASA, became the first spacecraft to fly through the outer atmosphere of the Sun.
• The spacecraft flew through the Sun's upper atmosphere 'Corona' and sampled magnetic fields and particles there.

About Parker Solar Probe

• The Parker Solar Probe is a NASA space probe launched in 2018 with the mission of making observations of the outer corona of the Sun.
• Parker will keep drawing ever closer to the sun and diving deeper into the corona until its grand finale orbit in 2025.

About Sun’s Corona

• The Sun’s corona is the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere.
• The corona is usually hidden by the bright light of the Sun’s surface.
• That makes it difficult to see without using special instruments. However, the corona can be viewed during a total solar eclipse.
• The corona is about 10 million times less dense than the Sun’s surface. This low density makes the corona much less bright than the surface of the Sun.
• Even though the corona is the outer layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, it is hundreds of times hotter than the Sun’s surface.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements:

1. The corona is the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere.

2. Corona is hotter than the Sun’s surface

3. The Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to fly into the low solar corona

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 2 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer