News Astronomy

The Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to visit the sun’s atmosphere

The probe crossed an invisible boundary that has been predicted for decades but never observed

illustration of NASA's Parker Solar Probe visiting the Sun's atmosphere

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (upper right in this illustration) has dipped below the crucial layer that separates the sun’s atmosphere from the rest of space. The solar atmosphere, or corona, is depicted here as a wavy red grid.

Joy Ng, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

By Lisa Grossman

- More than 2 years ago

For the first time, a spacecraft has made contact with the sun.