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NASA's spacecraft to catch a solar flare

NASA's spacecraft is passing by the Sun at high speed and is monitoring for solar flares.

Scientists seem very excited that NASA's Parker Solar Probe has successfully passed the sun

On Tuesday, September 6, at 2:04 a.m. EDT (0604 GMT), the PAARKER PROBE travelled within 5.3 million miles of the surface of the sun at its 13th close approach, or perihelio

This perihelion happens at a time when the sun has been particularly active, with a sunspot the size of Earth

This perihelion happens at a time when the sun has been particularly active, with a sunspot the size of Earth including recent geomagnetic storms and solar flares.

During its class encounters with the Sun, PARKER has yet to observe such activity

During its class encounters with the Sun, PARKER has yet to observe such activity

However, scientists are optimistic that this time the spacecraft will experience an outbrust

Never before has a spacecraft passed so closely by the sun during a solar flare

Nour Raouafi, a project scientist for the PARKER SOLAR PROBE  the mission's managing laboratory

According to a statement from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL), the data would be entirely new to us and we would undoubtedly learn a lot from it