Artists principle of the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the sun. Constructed and operated by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, Parker Solar Probe does not bring a devoted dust counter that would provide it precise readings on grain mass, instructions, composition, and speed. Parker Solar Probe is part of NASAs Living with a Star program to explore aspects of the Sun-Earth system that straight affect life and society. APL manages the Parker Solar Probe objective for NASA.
To find out about the origin of the Geminid stream, the scientists utilized this Parker data to model three possible development scenarios, and then compared these models to existing models produced from Earth-based observations. They found that violent designs were most constant with the Parker information. This means it was most likely that an unexpected, powerful occasion– such as a high-speed collision with another body or a gaseous explosion, amongst other possibilities– that produced the Geminid stream.
Parker Solar Probe becomes part of NASAs Living with a Star program to explore aspects of the Sun-Earth system that straight affect life and society. The program is handled by NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center for the Heliophysics Division of NASAs Science Mission Directorate. APL manages the Parker Solar Probe objective for NASA.
Artists idea of the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft approaching the sun. Data from the spacecraft suggests that a violent event, possibly a gaseous surge or a high-speed crash, likely led to the production of the Geminid meteor stream, which uniquely stems from asteroid 3200 Phaethon.
Each winter, the Geminid meteors light up the sky as they race previous Earth, producing among the most extreme meteor showers in the night sky. Now, NASAs Parker Solar Probe mission is providing brand-new evidence that a violent, catastrophic occasion produced the Geminids.
The majority of meteor showers come from comets, which are made from ice and dust. When a comet takes a trip near the Sun, the ice evaporates and launches gas, removing small pieces of the comet and producing a trail of dust. Slowly, this repeated procedure fills the comets orbit with product that produces a meteor shower when Earth passes through the stream.
Near-Earth asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Credit: Arecibo Observatory/NASA/NSF
The Geminid stream seems to stem from an asteroid– a portion of rock and metal– called 3200 Phaethon. Asteroids like Phaethon are not typically affected by the Suns heat the method comets are, leaving scientists to wonder what caused the development of Phaethons stream across the night sky.
“Whats truly weird is that we understand that Phaethon is an asteroid, however as it zips the Sun, it appears to have some kind of temperature-driven activity. Many asteroids dont do that,” said Jamey Szalay, a research study scholar at Princeton University and co-author on the science paper, just recently published in Planetary Science Journal.
The research study builds on previous work by Szalay and numerous of his Parker Solar Probe mission colleagues to assemble an image of the structure and behavior of the large cloud of dust that swirls through the innermost planetary system. Making the most of Parkers flight course– an orbit that swings it simply millions of miles from the Sun, closer than any spacecraft in history– the researchers were able to get the finest direct appearance yet at the dust grains shed from passing comets and asteroids.
Developed and run by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, Parker Solar Probe does not bring a devoted dust counter that would give it precise readings on grain mass, speed, instructions, and structure. Dust grains pelt the spacecraft along its path, and the high-speed effects create distinct electrical signals, or plasma clouds. These effect clouds produce unique electrical signals that are picked up by a number of sensors on the probes FIELDS instrument, which determines magnetic and electrical fields near the Sun.
