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SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/aero-parker-solar-probe-corona

What part of the Sun did Parker Solar Probe become the first spacecraft to fly through?

The corona, the Sun's upper atmosphere.

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  1. The Sun's core
  2. A sunspot
  3. The corona ✔

Why: In 2021 Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere. It gets closer to the Sun than any spacecraft before it.

Huh, didn't know that: At its closest, Parker zooms around the Sun at about 430,000 miles per hour.

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Why doesn't the Sun go to college? Because it already has a million degrees.
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References

Answer: The corona. In 2021 Parker Solar Probe became the first spacecraft to fly through the corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere. It gets closer to the Sun than any spacecraft before it.

  1. NASA Science, Parker Solar Probe science.nasa.gov/mission/parker-solar-probe
    the first spacecraft to fly through the corona
    Checked 2026-10-10.
  2. NASA Science, Parker Solar Probe science.nasa.gov/mission/parker-solar-probe
    hurtles around the Sun at approximately 430,000 mph (700,000 kph)
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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