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VERSION:2.0
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
PRODID:UW-Madison-Physics-Events
BEGIN:VEVENT
SEQUENCE:0
UID:UW-Physics-Event-4196
DTSTART:20161118T213000Z
DURATION:PT1H0M0S
DTSTAMP:20260419T101120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20161115T155443Z
LOCATION:2241 Chamberlin hall
SUMMARY:Countdown to Solar Probe\, Physics Department Colloquium\, Jus
 tin Kasper\, University of Michigan
DESCRIPTION:Less than two years from now we will make history by dropp
 ing the first instrumented probe into the extended atmosphere of the S
 un to directly observe the extreme environment responsible for superhe
 ating the solar corona and accelerating the solar wind.  For centuries
  solar eclipses have provided brief glimpses of the solar corona\, the
  remarkably structured atmosphere that surrounds the Sun and spreads t
 hrough interplanetary space as the solar wind.  Today\, the Sun and th
 e corona are tracked continuously by observatories on Earth and in spa
 ce.  We know much more about solar activity and the impact space weath
 er can have on society than ever before\, but we have not been able to
  answer fundamental questions about the Sun.  Why is the corona millio
 ns of degrees hotter than the visible surface of the Sun?  How does th
 e corona drive a supersonic solar wind?  How are solar flares and erup
 tions able to produce storms of radiation?  It has long been recognize
 d that the only way to unambiguously answer these questions is to send
  an instrumented probe close to the Sun.  In 2018 we will finally emba
 rk on this journey with the Solar Probe Plus spacecraft\, a NASA missi
 on that will repeatedly plunge through the corona to obtain the first 
 direct samples of the Sun.  The mission will be reviewed\, with a focu
 s on the physics of the solar corona and the design of plasma instrume
 nts capable of both making the necessary measurements and of surviving
  the solar encounters.
URL:https://www.physics.wisc.edu/events/?id=4196
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