Why don't they do this at night?

Wits' End

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Then they wouldn't have to worry about the heat :D

NASA probe to fly into sun
Scientists have studied the sun for decades, sending probes to unravel its 11-year cycles, watching its outbursts and measuring how its winds shape the outer edges of the solar system.

But we've never actually dared a house call: The technology simply wasn't available -- until now.
..........
Finding the answers will require a spacecraft that can weather temperatures exceeding 2,550 degrees Fahrenheit and radiation levels higher than any other probe has ever faced.

"Solar Probe Plus will actually enter the corona -- that's where the action is," said NASA program scientist Lika Guhathakurta.

I suppose they won't need a flashlight on this ship :aaa:
 

e2x2e

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Won't be a problem, somebody is modding it to LED so there won't be much heat.
 

Crenshaw

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i would be VERY hesitant to do this if i were them. what if somehting on the ship affects the sun? what if they end up destroying the sun?

sure, it will be loads of fun at first....flashlights round the clock, but it would start to suck one plants started dying......and temperatures start to drop...

Crenshaw
 

xcel730

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This reminds me of the movie "The Core" where the scientists screwed up the sun and developed a vehicle to restart the core. Very BS, interesting to watch nonetheless.
 

Stereodude

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This reminds me of the movie "The Core" where the scientists screwed up the sun and developed a vehicle to restart the core. Very BS, interesting to watch nonetheless.
I think you mean the earth's core, not the sun. It was from the secret earthquake weapon. :shakehead

The movie to restart the sun was Sunshine.
 

Daniel_sk

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This reminds me of the movie "The Core" where the scientists screwed up the sun and developed a vehicle to restart the core. Very BS, interesting to watch nonetheless.
This was one of the most stupid "sci-fi" movies I have ever seen :D. Funny how even radio communication worked when they were nearly in the earth core.
 

xcel730

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Won't be a problem, somebody is modding it to LED so there won't be much heat.

I missed this comment ... too funny. :D

But if we mod the sun to LED, it'll most likely be cooler tint.
 

mobile1

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Well if they go so close with a probe and a massive heat shield... they need to check the angle they're appraoching the sun with... being so close, if they are exactly in between the sun and earth with their heat shield they might cast a huge shadow onto earth without knowing (kind of like approaching a light bulp with f.e. a plate......

It would cause temperatures to drop, global warming would reverse, news would be packed with glaciers invading retirement communities in Florida and Southern California, heat development in Flashlights would suddenly be desired and Al Gore would define his new purpose in life to genetically clone the wooly mammoth.
 

Fallingwater

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I've seen The Core and I've seen Sunshine...The Core was a better movie IMHO.
Which says a lot about Sunshine.

Anyway, even if they manage to make a shield that resists to the temperatures in the corona (and I doubt it can be done), how is the probe going to transmit anything to Earth with all the radiation and magnetic mess?
 

Crenshaw

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This was one of the most stupid "sci-fi" movies I have ever seen :D. Funny how even radio communication worked when they were nearly in the earth core.

i liked that movie! of course, you have to totally disable your sci-fi bs filter for the duration of the movie....

Crenshaw
 

xcel730

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i liked that movie! of course, you have to totally disable your sci-fi bs filter for the duration of the movie....

Crenshaw

I thought the movie was a little too farfetch and a bit silly. I did enjoy watching it though. I like Armaggedon better, but I guess I like sci-fi in general.
 

Crenshaw

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I thought the movie was a little too farfetch and a bit silly. I did enjoy watching it though. I like Armaggedon better, but I guess I like sci-fi in general.

i liked that scene where they caught the computer hacker guy...and he microwaves everything..then when they are "interrogating" him, he hacks the guy's phone so he has "free IDD forever"

Crenshaw
 

AJ_Dual

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Which says a lot about Sunshine.

Anyway, even if they manage to make a shield that resists to the temperatures in the corona (and I doubt it can be done), how is the probe going to transmit anything to Earth with all the radiation and magnetic mess?


While the Corona has a "temperature" of millions of degrees, it would still seem/feel like hard vacuum to us, that millions of degrees would not transfer very well to the body of the probe. If an unprotected person who was in the shade from the sun's light, but was otherwise exposed to the multi-million degree Corona environment would simply die from vacuum exposure the same as they would in the coldest place you could find in space. In fact, the trace moisture in your skin boiling away would probably make you feel chilly, at least for the few moments you would feel anything, and assuming the distress to your eyes, ears, and lungs wouldn't override any and all other sensations.

The extreme upper reaches of our own atmosphere have a temperature in the hundreds of thousands of degrees too, but these large numbers are more a measurement of the energy and motion of the widely spaced atoms and particles that constitute the "atmosphere", and is not exactly "temperature" in terms of fire/melting like we'd think of it in a more terrestrial setting. Heat does not work the same way when there aren't thicker mediums present like our atmosphere to allow for convection and conduction.

The main problem from orbiting the sun that close would be light/radiation emanating from the "cooler" photosphere of the sun, and I'd wager that the thermal shield is likely up to the challenge, they don't call them "rocket scientists" for nothing. LOL…

As to communications, the sun is noisy, but it's probably only at certain wavelengths, or the probe uses a tight directional beam, or some kind of unique modulation that is easy to pick up and sort out from the Sun's background noise, or digital error correction. I would guess it's some combination of some or all of the above.
 
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