Parker Solar Probe Captures Closest-Ever Images Of The Sun
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In December, the Parker Solar Probe made history when it made the closest-ever approach to the sun by a spacecraft. As it whizzed by, a camera recorded incredibly detailed images, which show the sun’s surface, the flow of solar winds, and eruptions of magnetized balls of gas. Seeing this activity in such detail could help scientists understand solar weather.
Host Flora Lichtman talks with Parker Solar Probe project scientist Nour Rawafi about what these images show and how the probe could fundamentally change our understanding of the sun.
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Learn more about NASA space probes like Parker, then try your hand at designing your own with this all-ages engineering activity that uses supplies from around the house. Use Engineering To Design A Solar Space Probe |
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Segment Guests
Nour Rawafi
Dr. Nour Rawafi is Project Scientist for NASA’s Parker Solar Probe mission and an astrophysicist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Howard County, Maryland.
Segment Transcript
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About Charles Bergquist
As Science Friday’s director and senior producer, Charles Bergquist channels the chaos of a live production studio into something sounding like a radio program. Favorite topics include planetary sciences, chemistry, materials, and shiny things with blinking lights.
About Rasha Aridi
Rasha Aridi is a producer for Science Friday and the inaugural Outrider/Burroughs Wellcome Fund Fellow. She loves stories about weird critters, science adventures, and the intersection of science and history.
About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.