SH052-07
ACR Radial Gradients Inside 1 AU: First Results from Parker Solar Probe

Wednesday, 16 December 2020: 10:48
Virtual
Jamie Sue Rankin1, David J McComas1, Eric R Christian2, Christina Cohen3, Alan C Cummings4, Andrew Davis5, Colin Joyce1, Allan Wayne Labrador6, Richard A Leske4, Richard A. Mewaldt7, Nathan Schwadron8, Edward C Stone7 and Mark E Wiedenbeck9, (1)Princeton University, Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton, NJ, United States, (2)NASA GSFC, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (3)Caltech, Pasadena, CA, United States, (4)CALTECH, Pasadena, CA, United States, (5)California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, United States, (6)Mail Code 290-17, Pasadena, CA, United States, (7)California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (8)University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, United States, (9)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
Since its launch on August 12, 2018 (2018-224), NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft has traveled closer to the Sun than any prior human-made object and will make its closest approach of < 10 solar radii (< 0.046 au) by 2024. Onboard PSP, the Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (ISʘIS) instrument suite continues to make unprecedented in-situ measurements of energetic particles in the near-Sun environment. Measurements so far have taken place during the minimum between Solar Cycles 24 and 25. The resulting weak modulation from this period of low solar activity provides a prime opportunity to investigate galactic and anomalous cosmic rays (ACRs) close to the Sun. This study presents the first observations of ACRs in to 28 solar radii (0.130 au). Focusing specifically on Helium, we show the first results of an ACR radial gradient measured by PSP and discuss the implications of these findings in light of our current understanding of ACRs as they propagate through the heliosphere.
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