Decoding the Solar Wind ‘U-Turn’ Mystery with NASA’s Parker Solar Probe
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has unveiled new insights into the escape and entrapment of solar magnetic fields from the Sun, thanks to its record-breaking closest approach to our star in December 2024.
The spacecraft made a daring approach, flying just 3.8 million miles from the Sun’s surface on December 24. This feat made it the fastest human-made object ever built, traveling at an astonishing speed of approximately 430,000 miles per hour. The images published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters depict elongated blobs of solar material falling back toward the Sun after a coronal mass ejection (CME)—a phenomenon referred to as “inflows.”
“We’ve previously seen hints that material can fall back into the Sun this way, but to see it with this clarity is amazing,” said Nour Rawafi, project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
This discovery holds significant implications for our understanding of space weather. Such weather can disrupt GPS systems, trigger power outages, and pose risks to astronauts and spacecraft. When CMEs erupt from the Sun, twisted magnetic field lines explosively snap and realign in a process called magnetic reconnection. This process releases bursts of charged particles and magnetic fields into space.
For the first time, the high-resolution images have enabled scientists to make precise measurements of the inflow process. This includes the speed and size of material being pulled back into the Sun. This material falling back can subtly but significantly alter the shape of the solar atmosphere. Such changes may influence the trajectory of the next CME.
On December 26, NASA confirmed that the spacecraft survived its historic close encounter and is operating normally. It continues to collect valuable science data about our nearest star.
Source: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Mission