393,044 km / h: the Parker probe is the fastest man-made object

Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe has just broken the record for the fastest man-made object closest to the Sun that it had established.

Launched in August 2018 by NASA, the Parker Solar Probe probe is designed to study the Sun's crown by approaching at a distance of less than 7 million kilometers. Before that, the spacecraft that came closest to our star was the Helios 2 probe which had crossed the Sun at 43 million kilometers in 1976. The Parker probe instruments will help scientists understand how the crown of the Sun and the solar wind affect the Earth and the rest of the solar system.

The probe is placed in an orbit which brings it closer and closer to the Sun while reaching unprecedented speeds. During her fourth perihelion (point on the trajectory of a celestial object or vessel in heliocentric orbit which is closest to the Sun) dated January 29, she broke her own records of speed and proximity to the Sun. Here are the data communicated by NASA:

• Fastest artificial object: 393,044 km / h
• Spaceship closest to the sun: 18.6 million km

The two previous records from November 2018:

• Fastest artificial object: 247,000 km / h
• Spaceship closest to the sun: 42.7 million km

As it gets closer to the Sun, the Parker probe will continue to beat its own records until 2024, when it is expected to be approximately 6.9 million kilometers from its surface.

A first batch of data transmitted by the probe was the subject of a publication in the journal Nature last December. They partially lift the veil on the magnetic fields and the energetic particles of the Sun.

2020 promises to be an exciting year for the study of our star. On January 29, the Daniel K. Inouye solar telescope installed in Hawaii, took pictures of the surface of the Sun like never before. This telescope, which is the most powerful in the world, is not even in use yet. It should be fully operational in July and offer us a multitude of exceptional images.

Another important meeting, on February 9, the European Space Agency will launch the Solar Orbiter. This spacecraft will not get as close to the sun as the Parker spacecraft, but it will help improve our knowledge of the planet, including taking the very first images of the polar regions of the Sun.

Russian satellite appears to be tracking US spy satellite in Earth orbit

A Russian satellite uncomfortably positioned itself near an American spy satellite orbiting the Earth, which has led space trackers to speculate that the foreign vehicle was doing its own spying.

The Russian spacecraft is supposed to inspect other satellites, and experts from the space community believe it can now keep a watchful eye on the secret American vehicle. But the motivation behind this harassment in space is still unknown.

Throughout the month of January, amateur satellite trackers kept an eye on the strange behavior of this Russian probe, known as the Kosmos 2542. Launched in November of last year, Kosmos 2542 was in orbit in the same plane that a satellite operated by the National Reconnaissance Office called USA 245, which has been in space since 2013.

"Now Kosmos 2542 is close to United States 245 all the time"
The NRO is a military agency specializing in surveillance and operates a large band of classified satellites that are supposed to spy on places around the world, so it is entirely possible that USA 245 is doing something that the United States would like to keep secret. The fact that the two satellites are on the same plane is not enough to sound the alarm, since the satellites only cross about every 10 days.

"[It] is suspicious, but does not prove anything, because there are many different satellites on this plane," writes Michael Thompson, graduate teaching assistant at Purdue University specializing in satellites and introdynamics, in a e-mail to Le bord.

Kosmos 2542 attracted special attention last week when it performed a series of maneuvers, using its on-board thrusters to get closer to USA 245. Now Kosmos 2542 is close to USA 245 all the time. Thompson writes that the Russian satellite has been in constant sight of its American target for almost two weeks. The two satellites are 150 to 300 km apart at all times, making them essentially neighbors in the vast area of ​​the low Earth orbit. Kosmos 2542 is drifting slowly, but it will be in direct line of sight to USA 245 for weeks, even months, according to Thompson. (It's unless Russia decides to move it again.)

SOMETHING TO POTENTIALLY WATCH: COSMOS 2542, A RUSSIAN INSPECTION SATELLITE, RECENTLY SYNCHRONIZED ITS ORBIT WITH USA 245, A NRO KH11.
ONE WIRE: PIC.TWITTER.COM/LQVYIIYBMD

- MICHAEL THOMPSON (@M_R_THOMP) JANUARY 30, 2020

Thompson revealed all of this information in a Twitter feed, suggesting that Kosmos 2542 is carrying out an inspection of one of the American assets. And this is not a completely unexpected conclusion to draw. Before Russia launched the satellite, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the spacecraft was indeed designed to inspect other satellites in space, according to the Russian Space Web site, which tracks the Russian space industry. . Most assumed that it would inspect other Russian spacecraft, unclassified spy satellites operated by the United States.

Of course, we ultimately don't know the real reason why Kosmos 2542 did these maneuvers. But most experts say there is really only one good explanation: one satellite tracks the other.

"The conclusion that he is monitoring the NRO satellite is speculation, but it is informed by orbital data," wrote Brian Weeden, director of program planning for the Secure World Foundation, in an email to Edge. "Right now, this is the most likely explanation we have for why the Russian satellite maneuvered as it did and why it is in this orbit."

What happens next is not clear. Chances are good, no danger will come to the American satellite, as Russia says its probe is only for inspection. However, concerns have been expressed that the satellites could be mutually in space if they got close enough. The Ministry of Defense has sounded the alarm about satellites hitting other satellites, spraying them with chemicals or firing them with lasers to destroy them. This kind of space war hasn't happened yet, but it is certainly on the radar of the United States government.

In addition, there is no defined protocol on what to do when the satellite of another country becomes too user-friendly. "One of the big concerns is that we don't have agreed rules or standards on how these close-in approaches should be done," says Weeden. "It means an increased risk that someone may have a bad perception of what is going on, perhaps even confuse it with an attack."

It's not like this kind of behavior is completely new. Weeden noted that Russia and China have carried out extensive inspections of their own satellites in the past. And in 2015, a Russian satellite called Luch stood next to two American communications satellites operated by Intelsat, and stayed there for five months before moving. On the other hand, the United States is also guilty of this practice, says Weeden. The U.S. military operates a series of satellites as part of its geosynchronous spatial awareness program (GSSAP), which are responsible for approaching and verifying satellites operated by other countries.

For now, Thompson says he will continue to monitor the whereabouts of Kosmos 2542. Details of the satellite's route are available at space-track.org, a website that publishes tracking data collected by the US Air Force on as many satellites and pieces of debris in orbit as possible. He notes that he is certainly not the only one watching either. "Since the orbits of these Russian satellites are public information, anyone who wants to can watch it, and I know many people in our community are," says Thompson.

NASA telescope captured the most detailed images of the Sun ever taken

The Sun is a hostile place, where boiling plasma accompanies unpredictable eruptions. Today, the highest resolution photos and videos ever taken from its surface show this action in unprecedented detail. The National Science Foundation (NSF) in the United States published, Wednesday, January 29, data and images of the first observations of its Inouye solar telescope in Hawaii. The images reveal a pattern of coiled plasma that covers the surface of the Sun. Each cell structure is the size of Texas.

Following the completion of its construction on June 30, this new telescope will help usher in a new era in solar science. This in particular thanks to the help of the NASA Parker solar probe, which revolves around the Sun, and the next solar orbiter, which will be launched next week. This trio of telescopes could help scientists predict dangerous solar flares. They can also provide other photos and videos like the ones below. Here are the new images, and what to expect next.

The first photos of the Inouye solar telescope reveal a pattern of coiled plasma that covers the surface of the Sun. Each cell structure has a size comparable to that of Texas.

L'image couvre une zone de 36 370 kilomètres de large à la surface du Soleil. NSO/NSF/AURA

The smallest elements in this image - the tiny white dots between the plasma cells - are the same size as Manhattan.

"From the first test, we were able to get the highest resolution images of the solar surface ever taken," said Thomas Rimmele, director of the telescope, at a press briefing.

he NSF's 4-meter Inouye Solar Telescope sits atop the Haleakalā volcano on the island of Maui, Hawaii, above the clouds. NSO / NSF / AURA

"The first light was a very tense but also exciting moment. The atmosphere in the telescope's control room was similar to that of a rocket launch. When the first images appeared on the screen, they exceeded my expectations, "added the researcher. The 4-meter telescope is located at the top of the Haleakala volcano on the island of Maui (Hawaii), at an altitude of 3,000 meters.

The resolution of Inouye images is five times that of previous solar telescopes.

"So far, we have probably only seen the tip of the iceberg. We have not been able to see the smallest magnetic elements that should exist on the entire surface of the Sun," said Thomas Rimmele .