Parker Solar Probe Media Telecons

A ground-based image of the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017 (gray, middle ring), is superimposed over an image of the Sun’s atmosphere, called the corona (red, outermost ring), as seen by ESA (the European Space Agency) and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), which watches the Sun from space. At center is an image of the sun’s surface as seen by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths of light. NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will explore the corona, a dynamic region of the Sun’s atmosphere thought to hold the answers to many of our questions about our star. Credits:

Innermost image: NASA/SDO

Ground-based eclipse image: Jay Pasachoff, Ron Dantowitz, Christian Lockwood and the Williams College Eclipse Expedition/NSF/National Geographic

Outer image: ESA/NASA/SOHO

The Sun sometimes releases bursts of energetic particles. These particles are blocked by Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere, but they could pose a threat to astronauts traveling in deep space, and they can interfere with our satellites. This clip shows an eruption of energetic particles impacting ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory satellite, creating the ‘snow’ in the image. Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO

Seen here inside one half of its 62.7-foot tall fairing, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was encapsulated on July 16, 2018, in preparation for the move from Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida to Space Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it will be integrated onto it launch vehicle, a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy.

Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

Parker Solar Probe will use seven Venus flybys over nearly seven years to gradually shrink its orbit around the Sun, coming as close as 3.83 million miles to the Sun, well within the orbit of Mercury and about seven times closer than any spacecraft has come before. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is lifted to the third stage rocket motor on July 11, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

The corona streams away from the Sun — hidden behind the Moon — in this photo taken during the total solar eclipse of Aug. 1, 2008. © 2008 Miloslav Druckmüller, Peter Aniol, Vojtech Rušin. Used with permission.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is shown here mated to its third stage rocket motor on July 16, 2018, at Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, Florida. In addition to using the largest operational launch vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, Parker Solar Probe will use a third stage rocket to gain the speed needed to reach the Sun, which takes 55 times more energy than reaching Mars. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

This image, captured in wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light, shows a solar flare. Solar flares are intense bursts of light radiation caused by magnetic events on the Sun, and often associated with sunspots. The light radiation from solar flares can disturb part of Earth’s atmosphere where radio signals travel, causing short-lived problems with communications systems and GPS. Credit: NASA/SDO

Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are explosions of billions of tons of solar material into space. Because this material is magnetized, it can interact with Earth’s magnetic field and trigger space weather effects like the aurora, satellite problems, and even – in extreme cases – power outages. Credit: NASA/SOHO

Forecasting space weather is of vital importance in protecting NASA assets around the solar system. For this reason, NASA routinely tests various space weather models at the Community-Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC). This visualization is constructed from a computer model run of a coronal mass ejection (CME) launched from the Sun. Credit: NASA/GSFC/SWRC/CCMC