High on the list of potential discoveries for the Parker Solar Probe are answers to two cosmic questions. First, scientists hope the data it collects will be able to tell them how solar wind works, specifically why it accelerates. The idea of solar winds was considered laughable when Dr. Eugene Parker first presented the theory in 1958. However, since then scientific research has revealed that he was onto something. That's why the probe was christened with his name. Fun fact: this is the first NASA mission to ever be named after a living scientist.
Scientists also hope to solve the mystery of why the sun's corona — the atmosphere of plasma that surrounds it — is hotter than its actual surface. And the difference in temperatures isn't negligible. The surface of the sun is around 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but temperatures in the corona reach a scorching 3 million degrees. According to Space.com, solving these mysteries could be key to averting a massive disaster of global proportions. NASA says that the better we understand solar weather, the better we'll be prepared in the event that something like a solar storm affects the technologies on Earth we've all become so dependent on. With four years left in the Parker Solar Probe's mission, scientists still have much to learn about these enigmatic solar phenomena.
