Parker Solar Probe

I remember a Bradbury story where a spaceship flies close to the Sun and then extends a ladle to scoop up some of the Sun.  It was called: The Golden Apples of the Sun

here is the wiki on the book the story was published in:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Apples_of_the_Sun

the story can be read here (page 23):

  

https://archive.org/details/PlanetStoriesV06N03195311/page/n22/mode/1up

As was always the case with Bradbury, his stories are heavy on the poetic, lighter on the science but still Science Fiction :)

But on Christmas Eve 2024 the Parker Solar Probe is going to do something similar to the ship in Bradbury's story: actually fly close enough to the Sun to make measurements on the origin of the solar wind.  Here is an article about the Parker Solar Probe by Eric Berger on the Ars site:

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/12/were-about-to-fly-a-spacecraft-into-the-sun-for-the-first-time/

This is as close as anyone has ever gotten to realizing the imagination of Bradbury's story :)

Of course as ham radio operators know, this is the peak of the current solar cycle so the probe better be ready, plenty of electrons and protons and helium nuclei will be whizzing around not to mention photons of all energies !

Best Regards,
Chuck, WB9KZY
http://wb9kzy.com/ham.htm