Space Science Reviews - Parker Solar Probe: Four Years of Discoveries at Solar Cycle Minimum

01 February 2023 – First major open-access review article now published in Space Science Reviews

Launched on 12 August 2018, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (this opens in a new tab) had completed 13 of its scheduled 24 orbits around the Sun by November 2022. The article overviews the probe's accomplishments to date that relate to its science objectives, which include 1) to understand the physics of how energy that heats the corona and accelerates the solar wind, 2) to determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields close to the sources of the solar wind, and 3) to validate and test various theories and models for energetic particle acceleration and transport. 

Among the most notable results are 1) the magnetic field switchbacks, 2) the dust-free zone, 3) novel kinetic aspects of the young solar wind, 4) tangential flows beyond the Alfvén critical point, 5) dust beta-streams and 6) thermal emission from Venus. After a brief introduction about the operational aspect of the mission, the article systematically discuss these science aspects.
 

Raouafi, N.E., Matteini, L., Squire, J. et al. Parker Solar Probe: Four Years of Discoveries at Solar Cycle Minimum (this opens in a new tab). Space Sci Rev 219, 8 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-00952-4