What Time Is NASA's Parker Solar Probe Closest Sun Flyby on Christmas Eve?

On Christmas Eve, the Parker Solar Probe will achieve its closest Sun approach, breaking space exploration records

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 27 December 2024 21:13 IST

What Time Is NASA's Parker Solar Probe Closest Sun Flyby on Christmas Eve?

NASA's Parker Solar Probe will make its closest flyby of the sun ever on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2024

Highlights

Parker Solar Probe to fly closest to the Sun at 6:53 a.m. EST on Dec. 24
The spacecraft will travel at 430,000 mph through the Sun’s corona
NASA’s record-breaking mission offers new insights into solar phenomena

The Parker Solar Probe, a mission by NASA, is set to make its closest approach to the Sun on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024. This milestone flyby is expected to occur at precisely 6:53 a.m. EST, as reported by multiple sources. The spacecraft will reach an unprecedented proximity of 6.1 million kilometers from the Sun's surface, marking the 22nd close encounter of its mission. This approach represents a record-breaking moment in space exploration, achieved through seven Venus flybys that incrementally brought the probe closer to the Sun.

Details of the Flyby

According to mission updates from NASA and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), the Parker Solar Probe will travel at a staggering speed of 692,000 kilometers per hour during its journey through the Sun's outer atmosphere, or corona. This high-speed encounter aims to shed light on the corona's extreme temperatures and its role in solar wind generation. The probe's heat shield, built to endure temperatures up to 1,377 degrees Celsius, will ensure the spacecraft remains operational as it navigates the intense environment.

Updates and Tracking

While the event itself will not be broadcast live, updates will be provided through NASA's official channels and the Parker Solar Probe mission blog. A status check from the spacecraft is expected on December 27, followed by the first telemetry data on January 1, 2025. The initial scientific findings, including data on solar activity, are anticipated by late January.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

What Comes Next

This flyby is part of the probe's seven-year mission, concluding in 2025 after a total of 24 solar encounters. Subsequent flybys in March and June 2025 will continue to gather valuable data, with decisions about the probe's orbit to be made thereafter, as per the mission team's updates.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.