It can send streams of charged particles right towards Earth without warning, potentially

它會無預警地向地球送出帶電的粒子流，可能會

causing catastrophic damage to our power grid.

對我們的電網造成災難性傷害。

And while we need the Sun to live, we also need to protect ourselves from its wrath.

雖然我們需要靠太陽才能生活，但也要保護自身免受其憤怒侵擾。

The problem is, we actually know very little about our nearest star because

問題是，我們其實一點也不了解離自己最近的恆星，因為

we haven't been able to get close enough to fully understand its behavior.

我們還沒辦法靠得夠近，來完全了解太陽的行為。

But finally NASA believes it has the tech to touch the Sun.

但 NASA 最終相信有技術能接觸到太陽。

The Parker Solar Probe is humanity's first trip to a star.

帕克太陽探測器將展開人類首次登上恆星的旅程。

It will get seven times closer to the Sun than any mission before, and that's because

它將比以往的任務更接近太陽七倍，而這是因為

of the probe's Thermal Protection System or TPS.

探測器「熱防護系統」的緣故，簡稱 TPS。

The spacecraft and its instruments are shielded by an 11 centimeter thick piece of carbon

太空船和其儀器由 11 公分厚的碳泡沫保護著，

foam sandwiched between two panels of superheated carbon-carbon composite.

夾在兩片過熱處理的碳-碳複合物中。

The TPS will enable the front of the shield to withstand temperatures as high as 1,370

TPS 能使防護盾的前部承受高達攝氏 1,370 度，

degrees Celsius, while the inside of the probe remains at the comfortable heat of a summer day - about 30 degrees Celsius.

而探測器內部則保持在夏日的舒適熱度——約攝氏 30 度。

Twin solar arrays will power the spacecraft and its cooling system, which surprisingly utilizes a low-tech coolant: pressurized water.

雙太陽能電池陣列將為太空船及冷卻系統提供動力，系統特別使用低技術冷卻劑：加壓水。

The ability to function in extreme heat is incredibly important because the Parker probe

在極高溫下運行的能力相當重要，因為帕克探測器

will venture to the corona - the Sun's outermost atmosphere.

將前往日冕冒險，日冕是太陽大氣層的最外層。

There, the data it collects will help answer two of the most vexing questions in astrophysics:

收集的資料有助於回答天體物理學中兩道最棘手問題：

why the corona is hotter than the solar surface and how solar wind is accelerated.

為什麼日冕比太陽表面更熱，以及太陽風如何加速。

From Earth, we can only ever see the corona during a total solar eclipse, which is why it is incredibly difficult to study.

從地球這邊，我們只能在日全食時看到日冕，這也是為什麼日冕相當難研究。

Because the density is so low, the corona's brightness is overpowered by energy coming from the solar surface.

因為密度很低，日冕的亮度承受不住來自太陽表面的能量。

As the last layer of the Sun's atmosphere,

日冕位於太陽大氣層的最外層，

the corona extends millions of miles into space.

向太空延伸數百萬英里。

Here temperatures can rise to over 1 million degrees Celsius, which is about 300 times

此處的溫度可以超過攝氏一百萬度，這也比

hotter than the photosphere- the lowest layer of the Sun's atmosphere.

光球層 (太陽大氣層的最底層) 的熱度高約 300 倍。

At this extreme heat, the Sun's gravity can't hold on to rapidly moving particles charged

在這極端熱度下，太陽重力無法維持日冕中快速移動的帶電粒子，

in the corona, so they escape in streams of accelerated plasma, known as solar wind.

因此它們以高速電漿流的方式游離，稱之為太陽風。

These streams carry the Sun's magnetic field

這些電漿流以每秒 800 公里的速度，

far into space at speeds up to 800 kilometers per second.

將太陽磁場帶入太空中。

There are theories about the causes of coronal heating and solar wind acceleration, but we

某些理論提出日冕加熱和太陽風加速的原因，但我們

haven't been able to land on a definitive answer without actually going to the Sun,

如果沒有實際到達太陽，就無法找出明確答案，

and that's why the Parker Solar Probe is so crucial.

而這也是為什麼帕克太陽探測器如此重要。

The spacecraft will orbit the Sun 24 times, coming as close as 5.9 million kilometers

太空船將繞行太陽 24 次，最近會到 590 萬公里，

and moving as fast as 690,000 kilometers per hour.

並以每小時 690,000 公里的速度移動。

Once close enough, it will trace energy as it moves through the corona by measuring particle

一旦夠接近太陽，當它穿過日冕時，可以透過測量太陽電漿的

properties and shock waves in the Sun's plasma.

粒子特性和衝擊波來追蹤能量。

If Parker manages to complete its seven year mission, its data will revolutionize the way

如果帕克號能設法完成七年的任務，它的資料能解開長久以來的太陽謎團，

we look at the Sun by solving these longstanding solar mysteries.

將徹底改變我們看待太陽的方式。

Parker's discoveries will also help us better predict our nearest star's volatile

帕克號的發現也有助於我們更準確推測太陽的不穩定行為，

behavior and enhance our ability to forecast solar storms to avoid global disaster here on Earth.

並提高我們預測太陽風暴的能力，以避免地球的全球災難。

If you want to see more Space Crafts, check out this playlist here.

如果你想看更多「Space Crafts」的影片，來看看這裡的播放清單。

And be sure to let us know in the comments what astronomical phenomena you want to learn more about.

記得在下方留言告訴我們，你想學了解的天文現象。

Thanks for watching Seeker! Don't forget to subscribe.

謝謝觀看 Seeker 的影片！別忘了訂閱。