Nasa solar spacecraft becomes first to 'touch Sun’ in historic feat

A Nasa spacecraft has ‘touched’ the sun for the first time.

The Parker Solar Probe flew through the sun's upper atmosphere to sample particles and magnetic fields.

This is the first time a spacecraft has entered the atmosphere of the Sun, known as the corona, where temperatures exceed one million degrees.

The probe was launched in 2018 to explore the mysteries of the Sun and get closer to it than any previous spacecraft.

"Parker Solar Probe ‘touching the Sun’ is a monumental moment for solar science and a truly remarkable feat," Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator for the science mission directorate at Nasa headquarters, said.

"Not only does this milestone provide us with deeper insights into our Sun's evolution and it's impacts on our solar system, but everything we learn about our own star also teaches us more about stars in the rest of the universe.”

The findings have been published in the Physical Review Letters.

What did it capture?

After spending hours making several flybys in and out of the corona, the solar probe made new discoveries that other spacecraft were too far away to see.

These include studying the solar wind – the flow of particles from the Sun that can influence planets in the Solar System, including Earth.

Nasa's Parker Solar Probe flew through the Sun's corona, or upper atmosphere, for the first time. It captured coronal streamers on its camera, pictured, which have been only observed from afar and are visible from Earth during solar eclipses. Photo: Nasa

“Flying so close to the Sun, Parker Solar Probe now senses conditions in the magnetically dominated layer of the solar atmosphere – the corona – that we never could before,” Nour Raouafi, the Parker project scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, said.

“We see evidence of being in the corona in magnetic field data, solar wind data, and visually in images. We can actually see the spacecraft flying through coronal structures that can be observed during a total solar eclipse.”

Through the flybys, Parker was also able to solve the mystery of where the Alfven critical surface lies, which is a point in space that marks the end of the solar atmosphere and beginning of the solar wind.

Solar material is bound to the Sun by its gravity and magnetic forces, but rising heat and pressure push the material away from the Sun to a point where these forces are too weak to contain it.

For decades, scientists wanted to know where exactly in space that point was.

The discovery has also helped prove that the Alfven critical surface is not shaped like a smooth ball, instead it has spikes and valleys that wrinkle the surface.

It flew into the eye of the storm

At one point, the spacecraft flew about 10.46 million kilometres from the Sun’s surface, where it was able to observe a feature in the corona known as a pseudostreamer – bright and massive structures that rise above the Sun’s surface and are visible from Earth during solar eclipses.

Nasa said passing through the pseudostreamer was like flying into the eye of a storm.

“Inside the pseudostreamer, the conditions quieted, particles slowed, and number of switchbacks dropped – a dramatic change from the busy barrage of particles the spacecraft usually encounters in the solar wind,” the space agency said.

The magnetic fields in the region were so strong that they controlled the movement of particles there.

Parker will continue flying closer to the Sun and possibly reaching as close as 6.1 million kilometres from the surface.

The next flyby is expected to take place in January and would probably bring Parker through the corona again.

UAE landmarks seen from space - in pictures

Why your domicile status is important

Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.

Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.

UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.

A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Infobox

Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman

The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August

Results

UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets

Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets

Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets

Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs

Monday fixtures

UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain