Solar Plus Probe to be launched by NASA in 2018 to study the Sun from a close range than Helios almost from 3.9 million miles which is about 9 times the radius of Sun. At that distance it could face temperatures exceeding 2500 degrees Fahrenheit and radiation from the Sun. The spacecraft and instruments will be protected from the Sun’s heat and radiation by a 4.5-inch-thick (11.43 cm) carbon-composite shield.
The probe is expected to reach orbital velocities as high as 450,000 mph or 125 miles per second . For perspective, at this speed, you could travel from the Earth to the moon in about 30 minutes. Until now Juno the fastest-moving human-made object in history with 165,000 mph orbiting the Jupiter.
The primary mission of Solar Plus is to study the cause for solar winds and the flow of energy. Solar Probe Plus be equipped with a Faraday cup(developed by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Draper) to collect the data regarding the velocity and direction of the positively charged particles, magnetic fields at the sources of solar wind.
Solar winds cause havoc on Power grids, disrupt communications, navigation systems and satellites. Solar activity can also cause power outages, such as the extensive Canadian blackout in 1989. The geomagnetic storm also causes the auroras also called polar lights or northern lights.
A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave and/or cloud of magnetic field that interacts with the Earth's magnetic field.
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