NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to Make Historic Close Flyby of the Sun on Christmas Podcast By cover art

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to Make Historic Close Flyby of the Sun on Christmas

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to Make Historic Close Flyby of the Sun on Christmas

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 Welcome to Science News. This Christmas Eve, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will break its own records for the closest approach to the Sun and the fastest speed ever achieved by a human-made object.
On December 24, the Parker Solar Probe will come closer to the Sun than ever before—about 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) away. This is roughly eight times closer than Venus’s average distance to the Sun. During this historic flyby, the probe is expected to reach an unprecedented speed of 700,000 kilometers per hour (435,000 miles per hour), smashing its previous record of 635,000 kilometers per hour.
Launched in 2018, Parker was designed to "touch the Sun" by venturing into its outer atmosphere, the corona. It first accomplished this milestone in 2021. Over the years, the spacecraft has completed 21 solar flybys, using Venus’s gravity to slingshot itself closer to the Sun with each pass. This Christmas Eve flyby will be its closest yet....

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