For the past six years, the Parker Solar Probe has been on a mission to explore the inner solar system and provide unprecedented insights into the Sun’s behavior.

During a 2021 encounter, the probe captured a coronal mass ejection (CME) in remarkable detail, offering new clues about the Sun’s mysterious outbursts.

This encounter revealed turbulent eddies known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities (KHI), a rare phenomenon that occurs when two rapidly moving fluids interact.

These findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal, could help scientists better predict solar weather and its impact on Earth’s systems, Gizmodo reported.

The Parker Solar Probe, launched in 2018, has performed 18 solar encounters so far, with the closest approach scheduled for December 2024.

These intimate encounters with the Sun are providing invaluable information to scientists, shedding light on the star’s enigmatic behavior and uncovering its secrets.

Written by B.C. Begley