written by michelle starr, on december 15th, 2021
what: space probe parker touches the corona of the sun
when: research published december 14th, 2021
who/where: astrophysicist thomas zurbuchen, associate administrator for the science mission directorate at nasa headquarters
astrophysicist nour raouafi, parker project scientist at the johns hopkins applied physics laboratory
astronomer stuart bale of the university of california, berkeley, lead author on a paper on the phenomenon in press at the astrophysical journal
interesting fact: the surface of the sun was thought to be between 20 and 10 solar radiuses from the middle of the sun, but the probe went as low as 18 solar radiuses and was still in the corona (the atmosphere of the sun).
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