Parker Solar Probe flew through a powerful solar explosion and captured it on video

NASA's Parker Solar Probe flew through a massive solar explosion and survived. Moreover, he was able to record his ordeal on video. He accomplished this feat, as the space agency calls it, back in September 2022, but only now have astronomers published the resulting material.

It is noted that this was the most powerful coronal mass ejection (CME) in the history of observations. And the first penetration into such a gigantic eruption, thanks to which scientists were able to measure its parameters. Thus, at its peak, the speed of super-hot solar plasma reached 1,000 km/h.

In the video you can see the CME burst (at 14 seconds) and the moment the probe passes through the flow. The sun is not included in the frame, but its location is shown on the left side of the screen.

NASA added that the probe was able to survive thanks to a durable heat shield designed to withstand intense bursts of radiation.

Parker Solar Probe continues its mission. By 2025, it should orbit our star 21 more times. The probe will approach the Sun closer and closer, reaching a minimum distance of 6.2 million kilometers. At this point it will move at a speed of about 200 km/s and experience a temperature of about 1,400 degrees Celsius.