Why do we study the Sun and the solar wind?
The Sun is the only star we can study up close. By studying this star we live with, we learn more about stars throughout the universe.
The Sun is a source of light and heat for life on Earth. The more we know about it, the more we can understand how life on Earth developed.
The Sun also affects Earth in less familiar ways. It is the source of the solar wind; a flow of ionized gases from the Sun that streams past Earth at speeds of more than 500 km per second (a million miles per hour).
Disturbances in the solar wind shake Earth's magnetic field and pump energy into the radiation belts, part of a set of changes in near-Earth space known as space weather.
Space weather can change the orbits of satellites, shorten their lifetimes, or interfere with onboard electronics. The more we learn about what causes space weather – and how to predict it – the more we can protect the satellites we depend on.
The solar wind also fills up much of the solar system, dominating the space environment far past Earth. As we send spacecraft and astronauts further and further from home, we must understand this space environment just as early seafarers needed to understand the ocean.
Second time’s a charm.
Looking good so far. Boosters jettisoned.
I like how the rocket looks like it’s catching fire before it lifts off:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dm4WUx7z1A
When is it supposed to hit the sun?
He's the reason this mission to the sun is happening in the first place.
Bartender: “You can’t go to the sun, you’ll burn up”
Blonde Scientist: “We’re not stupid, we’ll go at night”
Related article:
“Why Is NASA Launching the Parker Solar Probe to the Sun at Night?”
https://www.space.com/41449-parker-solar-probe-night-launch-to-sun.html