NASA’s Solar Probe Dives Inside Sun, Reveals Hidden Plasma Secrets

NASA’s solar probe has successfully peered inside the sun to witness the massive plasma outpouring.

According to the U.S. space-focused media outlet Space.com, on the 2nd (local time), the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) released footage of the Parker Solar Probe observing from a coronal mass ejection (CME) phenomenon. This is the first time a probe has observed this from the inside.

A coronal mass ejection (CME) refers to the occurrence of a large amount of plasma being discharged from the sun’s atmosphere, the corona. The exudated plasma can create auroras or disrupt satellites, thus affecting Earth.

The interior of a CME has an inexplicably complex structure and has been considered a treasure trove for solar physicists. With the solar probe observing its interior through the Wide-field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) device, it is expected that the mysteries of the solar corona will be unraveled.

The recently released footage displays distinct whirlpools, which scientists call Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI). This phenomenon occurs when two pieces of fluid interact in opposite directions, causing a piece of fast-moving fluid to collide with another. It’s a well-known occurrence on Earth, where it appears like clouds in the sky are forming waves due to KHI.

Solar physicists have previously inferred that KHI exists in CMEs because the plasma of a CME moves in the opposite direction to the surrounding solar wind. However, there has been no direct observation of this until now.

Evangelos Paouris, a solar physicist at George Mason University in the U.S., said, “The turbulence that generates KHI plays a cardinal role in regulating the dynamics of the CME flowing through the surrounding solar wind. Therefore, understanding turbulence is the cornerstone of a deeper grasping of the evolution and kinetics of CMEs.”

Meanwhile, the Parker Solar Probe that entered the interior of the CME was launched from Earth on August 12, 2018. Drawing an elliptical orbit and gradually approaching the sun, it has become the closest object to the sun ever created by humanity.