Parker Science Result animations

The dynamic solar wind Observed near Earth, the solar wind is a relatively uniform flow of plasma, with occasional turbulent tumbles. But by that point it’s traveled over ninety million miles — and the signatures of the Sun's exact mechanisms for heating and accelerating the solar wind are wiped out. Closer to the solar wind's source, Parker Solar Probe saw a much different picture: a complicated, active system. Credit: NASA Goddard/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez

Top-down view of Switchback Magnetic FieldsParker indicated that the solar magnetic field embedded in the solar wind flips in the direction. These reversals — dubbed "switchbacks" — last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes as they flow over Parker Solar Probe. During a switchback, the magnetic field whips back on itself until it is pointed almost directly back at the Sun.Credit: NASA Goddard/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez

Switchback CloseupParker indicated that the solar magnetic field embedded in the solar wind flips in the direction. These reversals — dubbed "switchbacks" — last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes as they flow over Parker Solar Probe. During a switchback, the magnetic field whips back on itself until it is pointed almost directly back at the Sun. The spacecraft's approximate location is represented as a dot icon. Credit: NASA Goddard/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez

Artist interreptation of flying by the Earth, Sun and the Heliopause. Credit: NASA Goddard/CIL/Jonathan North

Solar Magnetic FieldExactly where the solar wind transitions from a rotational flow to a perfectly radial flow has implications for how the Sun sheds energy. Parker located a transition region in the solar wind's flow. Finding that point may help us better understand the lifecycle of other stars or the formation of protoplanetary disks, the dense disks of gas and dust around young stars that eventually coalesce into planets. The spacecraft's approximate location is represented as a dot icon.Credit: NASA Goddard/CIL/Jonathan North