{"id":249541,"date":"2025-07-11T04:05:47","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T18:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/heliophysics\/nasas-parker-solar-probe-snaps-closest-ever-images-to-sun\/"},"modified":"2025-07-11T04:05:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T18:05:47","slug":"nasas-parker-solar-probe-snaps-closest-ever-images-to-sun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=249541","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe Snaps Closest-Ever Images to Sun"},"content":{"rendered":"
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7 min read<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe Snaps Closest-Ever Images to Sun<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

KEY POINTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe has taken the closest ever images to the Sun, captured just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface.<\/em><\/li>\n
  • The new close-up images show features in the solar wind, the constant stream of electrically charged subatomic particles released by the Sun that rage across the solar system at speeds exceeding 1 million miles an hour.<\/em><\/li>\n
  • These images, and other data, are helping scientists understand the mysteries of the solar wind, which is essential to understanding its effects at Earth.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    On its record-breaking pass by the Sun late last year, NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe captured stunning new images from within the Sun\u2019s atmosphere. These newly released images \u2014 taken closer to the Sun than we\u2019ve ever been before \u2014 are helping scientists better understand the Sun\u2019s influence across the solar system, including events that can affect Earth.<\/p>\n

    \u201cParker Solar Probe has once again transported us into the dynamic atmosphere of our closest star,\u201d said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cWe are witnessing where space weather threats to Earth begin, with our eyes, not just with models. This new data will help us vastly improve our space weather predictions to ensure the safety of our astronauts and the protection of our technology here on Earth and throughout the solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Parker Solar Probe\u00a0started\u00a0its closest approach to the Sun on Dec. 24, 2024, flying just 3.8 million miles from the solar surface. As it skimmed through the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere, called the corona,\u00a0in the days around the perihelion, it collected data with an array of scientific instruments, including the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe, or WISPR.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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