When a total solar eclipse occurs and the moon completely covers the sun, a gaseous halo appears surrounding the sun.

The Parker Solar Probe was sent to discover this solar corona.

Amazing and exciting achievement

The French newspaper "Le Parisien" says in a report that the huge heat-resistant NASA robot, which was launched from Earth on August 12, 2018, officially touched the sun last April by penetrating its atmosphere. , which represents a mystery to scientists.

On Tuesday, 14 December, project officials explained at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union that the process of recovering the data took a few months, and then months to confirm it because of the sun's glare that could cut off communication with the probe for long days.

According to the scientist responsible for the project, Noureddine El-Rawafi, of Johns Hopkins University, the achievement is "wonderful and exciting."

The newspaper reported that the solar probe, which was advancing at a speed of 100 kilometers per second, completed its eighth approach to the sun last April.

The orbiting robot was then 13 million kilometers from the center of the sun.

Scientists say it first crossed the boundary between the heliosphere and the solar wind at least 3 times, and the mission went smoothly each time.

9 incursions so far

In his statement, Justin Casper of the University of Michigan told reporters that the probe "the first time - which was the most exciting - plunged into the heliosphere for about 5 hours."

According to Noureddine Al-Rawafi, the probe showed that the solar corona contains more cosmic dust than expected.

The American Physical Society wrote that "the space probe's sensors recorded fluctuations in the magnetic field and plasma energy, information that will help scientists better understand the secret of the corona's warming and the origin of the solar wind."

The newspaper pointed out that future trips to the sun would help scientists better understand the origin of the solar wind, how it warms and increases in speed in space and solar explosions affecting the Earth.

The Parker probe will continue to dive towards the core of the Sun until 2025 (NASA)

Preliminary data shows that the solar probe also penetrated the sun's corona during its ninth near-term approach in August, but scientists said more analysis is needed.

A total of 24 "explorations" have been scheduled.

In its elliptical orbit, the Parker probe will continue to dive toward the core of the Sun until 2025, at a distance of 6.2 million km from its center.

Scientists hope it will continue to send data.