WEBVTT - How Will a New Solar Orbiter Teach Us About the Sun?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum. Here. A newly launched spacecraft promises to

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<v Speaker 1>broaden our understanding of the Sun. Called Solar Orbiter, or

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<v Speaker 1>the Solo for short, it left Cape Canaveral Air Force

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<v Speaker 1>Station in central Florida on Sunday, February nine at three pm.

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<v Speaker 1>The new probe is part of an international collaboration between

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<v Speaker 1>NASA and the European Space Agency or e s A.

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<v Speaker 1>Both parties contributed to its arsenal of scientific instruments. Some

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<v Speaker 1>of these gadgets will remotely image the Sun, its atmosphere

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<v Speaker 1>and the materials its views. Fourth others are built to

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<v Speaker 1>keep tabs on the spacecraft's immediate surroundings. During the wee

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<v Speaker 1>hours of February, the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt,

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<v Speaker 1>Germany got a signal confirming the orbiters onboard solar panels

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<v Speaker 1>were functioning correctly. So begins a seven year planned mission.

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<v Speaker 1>The orbiter is supposed to take to Paraphry Robert Frost,

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<v Speaker 1>the route less traveled. You see, all the planets in

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<v Speaker 1>our solar system revolve around the Sun on the same

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<v Speaker 1>general plane, give or take a few degrees, called the

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<v Speaker 1>ecliptic plane. It's like a giant invisible disc, one that

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<v Speaker 1>very nearly lines up with Sun's equator. Most of our

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<v Speaker 1>space bearing devices are gravitationally confined to this plane, but

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<v Speaker 1>the Solo is meant to escape it by exploiting the

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<v Speaker 1>gravity of Earth and Venus. The pro will orbit the

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<v Speaker 1>Sun on a unique and tilted pathway. This unique trajectory

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<v Speaker 1>will give the solo twenty two close approaches to the

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<v Speaker 1>Sun as close as twenty six million miles or thirty

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<v Speaker 1>five million kilometers, as well is bring it within the

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<v Speaker 1>orbit of Mercury to study the Sun's influence on space.

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<v Speaker 1>It will also give the Solo the chance to do

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<v Speaker 1>something no craft has ever done before, take pictures of

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<v Speaker 1>the solar poles looking down from above or up from below.

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<v Speaker 1>Just like Earth, the Sun has a north and south pole.

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<v Speaker 1>In twenty eighteen, the e s A used data from

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<v Speaker 1>the Probe but two satellite to try to determine what

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<v Speaker 1>the northern pole looks like, but Proba two couldn't photograph

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<v Speaker 1>this region directly. If all goes according to plan, the

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<v Speaker 1>Solo will do just that. It's first close passed by

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<v Speaker 1>the Sun will be in twenty two at about a

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<v Speaker 1>third the distance from the Sun to Earth. And that's

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<v Speaker 1>just the beginning. Another mission involves the Solo partnering up

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<v Speaker 1>with the Parker Solar Probe, launched in twenty eighteen. The

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<v Speaker 1>spacecraft is able to fly much closer to the Sun

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<v Speaker 1>than the solo, ever will Comparing the feedback from both

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<v Speaker 1>probes ought to tell us a great deal about the

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<v Speaker 1>mysterious phenomenon called solar wind which are streams of charged particles.

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<v Speaker 1>Any polar pictures that the Solo gives us should provide

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<v Speaker 1>relevant insights too. The Sun's polar regions probably have a

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<v Speaker 1>big effect on its atmosphere as a whole, along with

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<v Speaker 1>the winds it unleashes. The solo's unique travel plans will

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<v Speaker 1>put it in contact with intense heat and extreme cold.

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<v Speaker 1>The probe is going to revolve around the Sun in

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<v Speaker 1>a very long, very narrow, oval shaped orbit. As it

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<v Speaker 1>nears the star, things will get rather toasty, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>why designers fitted the solar orbiter with a reflective heat

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<v Speaker 1>shield coated in titanium foil. According to NASA, this shield

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<v Speaker 1>can withstand temperatures as high as nine hundred and seventy

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<v Speaker 1>degrees fahrenheit or five and twenty degrees celsius. It's also

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<v Speaker 1>got radiators designed to ventilate excess heat produced within the

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<v Speaker 1>craft itself. But of course scientists aren't just interested in

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<v Speaker 1>the solar poles. One of NASA's upcoming Artemis lunar missions

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<v Speaker 1>is supposed to land the first astronaut at the Moon's

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<v Speaker 1>southern pole. None of the Apollo Ara moonwalkers ever made

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<v Speaker 1>it that far below the equator. Today's episode was written

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<v Speaker 1>by Mark Mancini and produced by Tyler Clang. For more

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<v Speaker 1>Onless and lots of other far reaching topics, visit how

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<v Speaker 1>stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I heart Radio.

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