<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>New images reveal the sun in never-before-seen detail after a record-breaking probe flyby late last year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The images, taken a negligible 6.1 million kilometres from the sun's surface, capture features in the solar wind, the constant stream of electrically charged subatomic particles released by the sun that rage across the solar system at speeds exceeding 1.6 million kilometres an hour.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>These images, and other data, are helping scientists understand the mysteries of the solar wind, which is essential to understanding its effects on Earth.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/russia-ukraine-donald-trump-threatens-vladimir-putin-tariffs-over-war/f04604f6-f2a5-4096-b575-3d2431a7a4b7" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump drops the hammer on Putin with incredible threat</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Parker Solar Probe has once again transported us into the dynamic atmosphere of our closest star," NASA Science Mission Directorate associate administrator Nicky Fox said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are witnessing where space weather threats to Earth begin, with our eyes, not just with models. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This new data will help us vastly improve our space weather predictions to ensure the safety of our astronauts and the protection of our technology here on Earth and throughout the solar system."</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/nasa-release-closest-ever-look-at-the-sun-after-probe/6fa84f60-a0fa-4ca7-8603-ec8f2c0d70db" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The solar probe started its closest approach to the sun on December 24, 2024, flying just 6.1 million kilometres from the solar surface.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/anthony-albanese-xi-jinping-meeting-beijing-china-port-of-darwin-ownership/8b08fe35-f9c4-4635-8117-ffea3f271f2d" target="_blank"><strong><span>PM brushes off concerns of Chinese retaliation as port showdown looms</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It took the new images while passing through the sun's outer atmosphere, the corona.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Why are solar winds important?</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Solar winds can wreak potential havoc on planetary bodies, including Earth.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They can help generate auroras, strip atmospheres, and overwhelm power grids and electronic communications on Earth.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The new images give scientists a closer look at what happens to the solar wind shortly after it is released from the corona.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/missing-backpacker-wa-carolina-wilga-statement/3b13b816-8ec2-41a7-9e71-86184fbcea9e" target="_blank"><strong><span>Rescued backpacker reveals why she abandoned car</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They also captured the collision of multiple coronal mass ejections, or CMEs – large outbursts of charged particles that are a key driver of space weather – for the first time in high resolution.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In these images, we're seeing the CMEs basically piling up on top of one another," Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory WISPR instrument scientist Angelos Vourlidas said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're using this to figure out how the CMEs merge together, which can be important for space weather."</span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/technology/2017/07/14/11/09/nasa-space-photos-stars-planets"><img alt="" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/W1jyB3wTIQByWveIk39e7Au1i18=/305x0:2000x953/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F2fa18117-6648-460e-86e4-1013b2af1f0f" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/W1jyB3wTIQByWveIk39e7Au1i18=/305x0:2000x953/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F2fa18117-6648-460e-86e4-1013b2af1f0f 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/CUK5GylHAZmsEZLjTOYzTjIP6fU=/305x0:2000x953/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2F2fa18117-6648-460e-86e4-1013b2af1f0f 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Lander's incredible close-up shot of the moon's hidden side</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/technology/2017/07/14/11/09/nasa-space-photos-stars-planets">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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