Close Encounter with a CME (Coronal Mass Ejection)

On Sept. 5, 2022, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe was about to make its 13th close approach to the Sun when a coronal mass ejection (CME) -- a powerful explosion of magnetic fields and plasma -- erupted right in front of it. The Sun is depicted off to the left in the video. Parker Solar Probe reaches closest approach on Sept. 6, which was the perihelion event. This video is a composite collected by the Wide Field Imager for Parker Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument onboard, which captured the entire event. The CME’s explosion becomes visible starting around 14 seconds into the video. Parker at first skirted along the CME’s flank before passing into it, passing behind the leading edge of the explosion before exiting out the other side. In all, Parker spent roughly two days observing the CME, becoming the first spacecraft ever to fly through a powerful solar explosion near the Sun. The information collected provides researchers with an unparalleled view into these stellar events and an opportunity to study them early in their evolution for the first time.