Talk page
Title:
The NASA Parker Solar Probe mission at the edge of the solar streamer belt
Speaker:
Abstract:
The physics of astrophysical coronal heating and the origin of the slow
solar wind remain compelling problems in heliospheric physics, and plasma
astrophysics more generally. The NASA Parker Solar Probe mission was
launched in late 2018 and has, to date, made six perihelion passes with
the latest at 20.4 solar radii. The PSP instruments have measured a rich variety of
plasma physics phenomena, including Alfvenic fluctuations and turbulence,
interplanetary dust, ion- and electron-scale plasma instabilities and solar
radio emissions. I will review some of the key initial results, including
the phenomena of Alfvenic 'switchbacks' or jets, and describe more recent
measurements as PSP encounters the dense structures associated with the
streamer belt.
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