NASA probe captures our closest-ever view of the sun

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Striking new images highlighting a close glimpse of the sun's atmosphere were captured by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe.

The photos are assisting scientists with studying the sun’s influence across the solar system, including occurrences affecting Earth, according to aNASA release.

When did the NASA probe obtain photos of the sun?

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On Dec. 24, 2024, the NASA Parker Solar Probe began its closest approach to the sun, traveling approximately 3.8 million miles from the solar surface.

When theNASA probe glided though the sun’s outer atmosphere, it gathered an assortment of scientific instruments, including the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR).

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Images captured by Parker Solar Probe’s WISPR instrument during its record-breaking flyby of the Sun on Dec. 25, 2024, show the solar wind racing out from the Sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona. (NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Naval Research Lab)

According to NASA, the WISPR images reveal the sun’s outer atmosphere and solar wind, a stream of electrically charged particles from the sun that move wildly across the solar system.

This imagery also provides researcherswith a detailed view at what takes place with solar wind after it's released from the sun’s outer atmosphere, while displaying a barrier where the sun’s magnetic field changes directions from north to south.

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NASA explained in a release that during NASA Parker Solar Probe’s orbit near the sun, it will keep collecting more data during its impending travel through the sun’s outer atmosphere to help scientists determine the solar wind’s origins. The probe’s next pass happens on Sept. 15, 2025.

The Source

Information for this story was provided by a NASA release on the NASA probe’s journey near the sun. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.