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- Parker Solar Probe is a mission to study the sun<\/strong>. In 2021 it became the first spacecraft to \u201ctouch\u201d the sun, when it flew though our sun\u2019s wispy\u00a0atmosphere.<\/li>\n
- Parker will flyby Venus today, November 6, 2024<\/strong>, in order to get it into position for its final studies of the sun.<\/li>\n
- The flyby will also allow Parker to see Venus\u2019 surface<\/strong>, even through the thick cloud cover. Previous flybys have shown differences in the Venusian surface from the Magellan mission in the 1990s.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Miles Hatfield wrote this original article for NASA on November 4, 2024. Edits by EarthSky.<\/p>\n
Join the 2025 Lunar Calendar presale today to snag a copy signed by the visionary Deborah Byrd herself.<\/p>\n
Final Parker Solar Probe flyby of Venus<\/h3>\n
Today, November 6, 2024, NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe will complete its final Venus gravity assist maneuver, passing within 233 miles (375 km) of Venus\u2019 surface. The flyby will adjust Parker\u2019s trajectory into its final orbital configuration, bringing the spacecraft to within an unprecedented 3.8 million miles (6.2 million km) of the solar surface on December 24, 2024. It will be the closest any human-made object has been to the sun.<\/p>\n
Parker\u2019s Venus flybys have become boons for new Venus science, thanks to a chance discovery from its Wide-Field Imager for Parker Solar Probe, or WISPR. The instrument peers out from Parker and away from the sun to see fine details in the solar wind. But on July 11, 2020, during Parker\u2019s third Venus flyby, scientists turned WISPR toward Venus in hopes of tracking changes in the planet\u2019s thick cloud cover. The images revealed a surprise: A portion of WISPR\u2019s data, which captures visible and near infrared light, seemed to see all the way through the clouds to the Venusian surface below. <\/p>\n
Noam Izenberg, a space scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, said: <\/p>\n
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The WISPR cameras can see through the clouds to the surface of Venus, which glows in the near-infrared because it\u2019s so hot.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Venus, sizzling at approximately 869 degrees Fahrenheit (about 465 C), was radiating through the clouds.<\/p>\n
The WISPR images from the 2020 flyby, as well as the next flyby in 2021, revealed Venus\u2019 surface in a new light. But they also raised puzzling questions, and scientists have devised the November 6 flyby to help answer them.<\/p>\n
Seeing Venus\u2019 surface<\/h3>\n
The Venus images correspond well with data from the Magellan spacecraft. The images show dark and light patterns that line up with surface regions Magellan captured when it mapped Venus\u2019 surface using radar from 1990 to 1994. Yet some parts of the WISPR images appear brighter than expected, hinting at extra information captured by WISPR\u2019s data. Is WISPR picking up on chemical differences on the surface, where the ground is made of different material? Perhaps it\u2019s seeing variations in age, where more recent lava flows added a fresh coat to the Venusian surface.<\/p>\n
Izenberg said: <\/p>\n
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Because it flies over a number of similar and different landforms than the previous Venus flybys, the November 6 flyby will give us more context to evaluate whether WISPR can help us distinguish physical or even chemical properties of Venus\u2019 surface.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
![\"Left](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2024\/11\/wispr-magellan-4thflyby_NASA_4Nov2024.gif\")
WISPR images from the Parker Solar Probe show the surface of Venus with features in the same places where the Magellan mission from the 1990s revealed topography with its radar. However, some parts of the WISPR images appear brighter than expected. The November 6 flyby will offer more details. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Next up: Parker\u2019s final explorations of the sun<\/h3>\n
After the November 6 flyby, Parker will be on course to swoop within 3.8 million miles (6.2 million km) of the solar surface, the final objective of the historic mission first conceived over 65 years ago. No human-made object has ever passed this close to a star, so Parker\u2019s data will be charting as-yet uncharted territory. In this hyper-close regime, Parker will cut through plumes of plasma still connected to the sun. It is close enough to pass inside a solar eruption, like a surfer diving under a crashing ocean wave.<\/p>\n
Adam Szabo, project scientist for Parker Solar Probe at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said: <\/p>\n
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This is a major engineering accomplishment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The closest approach to the sun, or perihelion, will occur on December 24, 2024. At that time, mission control will be out of contact with the spacecraft. Parker will send a beacon tone on December 27, 2024, to confirm its success and the spacecraft\u2019s health. Parker will remain in this orbit for the remainder of its mission, completing two more perihelia at the same distance.<\/p>\n
Bottom line: The final Parker Solar Probe flyby of Venus happens on November 6, 2024. Previous flybys of Venus have shown surface features beneath the planet\u2019s thick clouds. What will the final flyby reveal?<\/p>\n
Via NASA<\/p>\n
Read more: Parker Solar Probe: 1st spacecraft to touch sun<\/p>\n
Read more: Parker Solar Probe captures a glimpse of Venus<\/p>\n
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\n - Parker will flyby Venus today, November 6, 2024<\/strong>, in order to get it into position for its final studies of the sun.<\/li>\n