From its life-sustaining energy to its explosive geomagnetic storms, the Sun has many mysteries, says astrophysicist Nour E. Rawafi. He sheds light on NASA's latest endeavor to better understand our fiery neighbor and its impact on the future of society: sending the cutting-edge Parker Solar Probe deep into the Sun's atmosphere in humanity's closest-ever approach to a star.
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[00:00:05] From the dawn of humanity, we've gazed upon the Sun, our life-giving star, with a mixture of awe and fear.
[00:00:12] Like Icarus, we've been drawn to its power, yearning to understand its mysteries, even risking getting burned in the process.
[00:00:21] But unlike Icarus, whose wax wings melted as he flew too close, today we have the technology to touch the very heart of our star and unlock its secrets.
[00:00:34] This is TED Tech, a podcast from the TED Audio Collective.
[00:00:38] I'm your host, Sherelle Dorsey.
[00:00:41] Joining us today is astrophysicist Nour E. Rawafi, who is leading the charge in an incredible journey to the Sun's inner core.
[00:00:51] He will tell us about a groundbreaking mission that is rewriting our understanding of the Sun, its impact on Earth, and the very future of our planet.
[00:01:01] Get ready to be amazed as we fly closer to the Sun than ever before.
[00:01:06] Before we dive in, a quick break to hear from our sponsors.
[00:01:21] And now, Nour E. Rawafi takes the TED stage.
[00:01:26] Allow me to introduce you to the celestial body that holds the most significance for us all.
[00:01:31] The Sun.
[00:01:32] Now, you might say, I already know the Sun.
[00:01:37] I've seen it every day for my entire life.
[00:01:40] Yes.
[00:01:42] Earth's star is our lifelong companion.
[00:01:44] It is our mood booster, our plant-grower, our sometimes-too-much-of-a-good-thing skin culture.
[00:01:51] We all know, love, and admire the Sun.
[00:01:54] I'm an astrophysicist.
[00:01:57] I live for studying the Sun, its complexity, and the weird and powerful weather system it creates.
[00:02:04] Sometimes when I get so into it, which is most of the time anyway,
[00:02:09] my wife will ask,
[00:02:10] are you also married to the Sun?
[00:02:16] And I'll say, technically no.
[00:02:21] But if it doesn't upset you too much, yes.
[00:02:25] Now, having said that, I'm not sure where I'm going to sleep tonight.
[00:02:31] So I can confirm that we know the Sun better than any cellular system in the whole universe.
[00:02:37] But I'm going to let you in a little secret.
[00:02:40] Sometimes I feel like we don't know the Sun at all.
[00:02:44] As a child, I was captivated by the sky glittering with stars,
[00:02:48] which are nothing but distant Suns.
[00:02:51] Lie on your back on summer night,
[00:02:53] look up at the heavens,
[00:02:55] and there you have it.
[00:02:56] Whichever direction you look,
[00:02:58] there is a star shining at you, another Sun.
[00:03:01] That was the start of the journey of wonder and curiosity.
[00:03:05] Stars come in all sizes and flavors,
[00:03:08] from monsters to dwarves.
[00:03:10] If we were to drop the largest known star in the universe
[00:03:13] into our solar system,
[00:03:15] it would extend well beyond the orbit of Jupiter.
[00:03:18] The smallest is about the same size as the planet Saturn.
[00:03:21] But no matter the size and type,
[00:03:24] stars hold great significance for us.
[00:03:27] We are all made of stardust,
[00:03:30] star babies.
[00:03:31] Yet no star holds greater significance for our past,
[00:03:35] our present, and our future than our very own.
[00:03:38] The Sun is responsible for life on Earth,
[00:03:41] powering photosynthesis,
[00:03:43] warming the planet,
[00:03:45] providing clean and free energy.
[00:03:47] But it is also violent, explosive,
[00:03:50] and unpredictable.
[00:03:51] Here's what I mean.
[00:03:53] The northern lights are beautiful and mesmerizing, right?
[00:03:57] On September 1st, 1859,
[00:04:00] people could see aurorae,
[00:04:03] even in daytime,
[00:04:05] around the entire globe.
[00:04:07] Turns out,
[00:04:08] that was the result of the most intense
[00:04:11] geomagnetic storm in recorded history.
[00:04:13] This was a Carrington event.
[00:04:16] It was likely a giant coronal mass ejection,
[00:04:19] or CME,
[00:04:19] that disrupted telegraph lines
[00:04:21] and sparked fires at their stations.
[00:04:24] Can you imagine
[00:04:25] the repercussions of such a storm today?
[00:04:28] It could shut down the entire power grid,
[00:04:30] not for hours,
[00:04:31] but weeks and months,
[00:04:32] or even years.
[00:04:33] The potential for human distress
[00:04:35] in the affected areas
[00:04:36] is well beyond our scale of comprehension.
[00:04:40] The economic impact alone
[00:04:42] could be in the trillions of dollars.
[00:04:45] So learning about the one star in the universe
[00:04:48] that humans cannot do without
[00:04:49] is vital.
[00:04:51] And that's what physicists like me are trying to do.
[00:04:55] So,
[00:04:56] what do we know already?
[00:04:59] The sun holds over 99.8%
[00:05:02] of the solar system total mass.
[00:05:04] Its shear size is mind-boggling,
[00:05:06] requiring more than 1.3 million Earths
[00:05:09] to fill its volume.
[00:05:10] All of that mass
[00:05:12] is in the form of plasma,
[00:05:14] a glowing soup
[00:05:15] of electrically charged particles.
[00:05:16] At the solar core,
[00:05:18] gravity is exceedingly high,
[00:05:20] producing temperatures
[00:05:22] in excess of 15 million degrees Celsius.
[00:05:25] The extreme pressure
[00:05:26] forces the proteins to come together
[00:05:28] and diffuse into helium
[00:05:30] while releasing bursts of energy.
[00:05:32] This is nuclear fusion.
[00:05:34] And if we can replicate this process
[00:05:37] sustainably on Earth,
[00:05:38] it would provide almost limitless clean energy
[00:05:41] to power the entire globe.
[00:05:43] Many of us have witnessed
[00:05:44] total solar eclipse
[00:05:45] like the one in 2024.
[00:05:47] This fascinating celestial spectacle
[00:05:50] has captivated humans for millennia.
[00:05:52] As the moon gracefully positioned itself
[00:05:54] between us and the sun,
[00:05:56] the solar corona bears force
[00:05:57] in all its majestic splendor.
[00:05:59] But the corona also harbors
[00:06:00] some of the most perplexing phenomena.
[00:06:02] You know, the solar surface
[00:06:04] is plenty hot,
[00:06:05] 6,000 degrees.
[00:06:06] Hot enough to melt anything we know.
[00:06:08] But in the corona,
[00:06:10] we're talking millions of degrees Celsius.
[00:06:12] How can it be over 300 times hotter
[00:06:15] despite being the sun's outermost layer?
[00:06:18] Physicists have suggested since the 50s
[00:06:20] that all of that heat
[00:06:21] must generate a constant
[00:06:23] outflow of particles.
[00:06:24] This is the solar wind.
[00:06:27] It speeds away
[00:06:28] at up to 3 million kilometers per hour.
[00:06:31] At that speed,
[00:06:33] you can get from the Earth to the moon
[00:06:36] in under 20 minutes.
[00:06:38] This cosmic stream
[00:06:39] is like celestial rapids.
[00:06:41] And that's where we live.
[00:06:42] Behind all this
[00:06:43] is the sun's magnetism.
[00:06:45] As solar magnetic fields
[00:06:46] twist, bend, entangle,
[00:06:49] they store enormous amounts of energy.
[00:06:51] And when they snap,
[00:06:53] huge explosions
[00:06:54] like flares
[00:06:55] and coronal mass ejections
[00:06:57] release this energy
[00:06:59] and turn it into heat
[00:07:00] and accelerating the plasma.
[00:07:02] It takes only a handful
[00:07:04] of these strong events
[00:07:05] to fulfill our current energy needs
[00:07:07] for some 200,000 years.
[00:07:09] That is the whole span
[00:07:11] of modern human existence.
[00:07:14] The sun does that
[00:07:16] in minutes to a few hours.
[00:07:18] These same explosions
[00:07:19] propel particles
[00:07:20] to nearly the speed of light
[00:07:21] and turn them
[00:07:22] into formidable hazards
[00:07:23] to spacecrafts
[00:07:24] and to humans in space.
[00:07:25] Does the loss
[00:07:26] of 40 SpaceX satellites
[00:07:28] ring a bell?
[00:07:29] A moderate solar storm
[00:07:30] knock them out.
[00:07:32] Our power grid
[00:07:33] can fall victim
[00:07:33] like in March 1989
[00:07:35] in the northeast
[00:07:36] of the U.S. Canada
[00:07:37] when a succession
[00:07:38] of solar storms
[00:07:39] caused an intense
[00:07:40] geomagnetic storm.
[00:07:42] Even deep seas
[00:07:43] can be affected.
[00:07:45] In 1972,
[00:07:48] dozens of sea mines
[00:07:49] spontaneously exploded.
[00:07:51] The likely cause?
[00:07:53] You guessed it.
[00:07:55] A powerful
[00:07:56] colon-mass ejection.
[00:07:57] So we need to learn
[00:07:59] how the sun
[00:07:59] does all this
[00:08:00] and more.
[00:08:01] Since the dawn
[00:08:02] of the space age,
[00:08:03] NASA has wanted
[00:08:04] to fly a spacecraft
[00:08:05] as close as possible
[00:08:06] to the sun
[00:08:07] to solve these mysteries.
[00:08:08] But getting very close
[00:08:10] to a star
[00:08:10] is extremely risky
[00:08:12] and really hard.
[00:08:13] How would we protect
[00:08:14] a probe
[00:08:15] from just melting?
[00:08:16] How could it adjust
[00:08:18] for any problem
[00:08:19] on its own
[00:08:19] when you cannot
[00:08:20] communicate with it?
[00:08:22] Until recently,
[00:08:23] we simply didn't
[00:08:23] possess the technology.
[00:08:25] In 2018,
[00:08:26] that all changed
[00:08:28] with the launch
[00:08:28] of Parker Solar Probe.
[00:08:30] Parker Solar Probe
[00:08:31] is the first spacecraft
[00:08:32] to ever fly
[00:08:33] through the solar corona.
[00:08:34] It has revolutionized
[00:08:36] our understanding
[00:08:37] of the sun.
[00:08:38] In five plus years,
[00:08:39] we've already learned
[00:08:40] so much.
[00:08:46] the closest ever
[00:08:46] to understanding
[00:08:47] what heats
[00:08:48] and accelerates
[00:08:49] the plasma
[00:08:49] in the corona
[00:08:49] and the solar wind.
[00:08:51] And we have
[00:08:52] the most detailed
[00:08:53] observation
[00:08:53] of coronal mass rejections.
[00:08:55] Can you hear that?
[00:09:08] This is one
[00:09:09] of the most powerful
[00:09:10] CMEs ever recorded.
[00:09:12] It erupted
[00:09:13] on September 5, 2022,
[00:09:15] and it was traveling
[00:09:16] at more than
[00:09:17] 2,500 kilometers
[00:09:18] per second
[00:09:19] when it hit
[00:09:20] our brave probe
[00:09:21] very close to the sun.
[00:09:23] For days,
[00:09:24] we didn't know
[00:09:25] whether Parker Solar Probe
[00:09:26] made it or not
[00:09:27] because it was
[00:09:28] on the backside
[00:09:28] of the sun.
[00:09:29] But once it emerged
[00:09:30] on the other side,
[00:09:32] it called back
[00:09:33] saying,
[00:09:33] everything is fine
[00:09:34] and we have
[00:09:35] a ton of data
[00:09:36] for you
[00:09:37] that will give you
[00:09:38] an unprecedented look
[00:09:39] at how these events
[00:09:40] accelerate particles
[00:09:41] to almost the speed
[00:09:42] of light
[00:09:43] and sweep almost
[00:09:44] everything in their way,
[00:09:46] leaving a near-perfect
[00:09:47] vacuum behind.
[00:09:49] And that is just
[00:09:50] a sampling.
[00:09:51] We cannot catch a breath
[00:09:52] with this mission.
[00:09:53] Every three months,
[00:09:54] we have a close approach
[00:09:55] to the sun
[00:09:56] and the new load
[00:09:57] of data
[00:09:57] to investigate.
[00:09:59] It's overwhelming
[00:10:00] at times,
[00:10:01] but this data
[00:10:02] will serve
[00:10:03] many generations
[00:10:04] to come.
[00:10:05] Parker Solar Probe
[00:10:06] is a true mission
[00:10:06] for the ages.
[00:10:08] So are you curious
[00:10:09] how did we do it?
[00:10:10] Parker Solar Probe
[00:10:11] is not a large spacecraft.
[00:10:13] It could fit
[00:10:13] under a basketball hoop
[00:10:15] and carries about
[00:10:16] half the weight
[00:10:16] of a compact car.
[00:10:17] But it is
[00:10:18] a marvel of technology.
[00:10:19] The only thing
[00:10:21] standing between
[00:10:21] the probe
[00:10:22] and incineration
[00:10:23] is an ingenious
[00:10:24] 11.5 cm thick,
[00:10:27] 2.3 m wide
[00:10:28] carbon foam shield.
[00:10:30] On Christmas Eve
[00:10:31] 2024,
[00:10:32] the shield's
[00:10:33] sun-facing side
[00:10:34] will endure
[00:10:35] about 1,000 degrees Celsius.
[00:10:38] About one meter behind,
[00:10:40] it's almost
[00:10:41] from temperature.
[00:10:43] How does Parker
[00:10:44] shed all that heat?
[00:10:46] The special ceramic coating
[00:10:48] on top of the heat shield
[00:10:49] reflects as much light
[00:10:51] as possible.
[00:10:52] The heat shield itself
[00:10:54] absorbs a huge amount
[00:10:55] of heat
[00:10:56] in the radiators
[00:10:56] elsewhere.
[00:10:58] Meanwhile,
[00:10:59] a network
[00:11:00] of tiny pipes
[00:11:01] runs through
[00:11:02] the solar panels,
[00:11:03] extracting heat
[00:11:04] and expelling it
[00:11:06] through the radiators.
[00:11:07] It uses
[00:11:08] a liquid-based
[00:11:09] cooling system.
[00:11:10] The liquid
[00:11:12] is a simple
[00:11:13] gallon of water.
[00:11:15] All this system
[00:11:17] will be operating
[00:11:18] on December 24,
[00:11:19] 2024,
[00:11:20] when Parker Solar Probe
[00:11:22] achieves humanity's
[00:11:23] closest ever
[00:11:24] approach to a star.
[00:11:26] This will be
[00:11:27] a monumental
[00:11:28] and audacious
[00:11:29] achievement.
[00:11:31] In 1969,
[00:11:32] we landed
[00:11:33] humans on the moon.
[00:11:34] In 24,
[00:11:36] we're going
[00:11:37] to embrace a star.
[00:11:40] So,
[00:11:41] all this
[00:11:42] is very cool,
[00:11:42] amazing science,
[00:11:44] and really fun
[00:11:45] to geek out about.
[00:11:47] It also happens
[00:11:48] to be vitally
[00:11:49] important
[00:11:50] for your lives
[00:11:51] and to mine.
[00:11:53] Delving into
[00:11:53] the sun's history,
[00:11:54] we discovered
[00:11:55] periods when
[00:11:56] it entered
[00:11:58] long,
[00:11:58] tranquil phases
[00:11:59] that lasted
[00:12:00] for decades.
[00:12:01] During these times,
[00:12:04] called the
[00:12:05] solar grand minimum,
[00:12:07] solar activity
[00:12:08] diminished to the point
[00:12:09] of near non-existence,
[00:12:10] along with extreme
[00:12:11] climate conditions
[00:12:12] on Earth.
[00:12:13] One such episode
[00:12:14] lasted for an
[00:12:16] astounding seven decades,
[00:12:17] from 1645
[00:12:19] to 1715,
[00:12:20] and it coincided
[00:12:22] with the Little Ice Age.
[00:12:23] This episode
[00:12:24] seems to occur
[00:12:25] every 200 to 300
[00:12:26] years or so.
[00:12:28] Now,
[00:12:29] here's the
[00:12:30] thrilling intrigue.
[00:12:31] We are
[00:12:32] overdue.
[00:12:34] Is the sun
[00:12:35] about to enter
[00:12:35] a new and
[00:12:36] extended
[00:12:36] law of
[00:12:36] minimum activity?
[00:12:38] When will
[00:12:39] it happen?
[00:12:40] How long
[00:12:40] will it last?
[00:12:41] How deep
[00:12:42] will it be?
[00:12:43] We don't know.
[00:12:45] The most
[00:12:46] important thing,
[00:12:47] however,
[00:12:47] is what impact
[00:12:49] this phenomenon
[00:12:49] could have
[00:12:50] on our lives,
[00:12:51] our movements,
[00:12:52] our energy,
[00:12:53] our food sources.
[00:12:54] How will it affect
[00:12:56] our climate
[00:12:56] and our atmosphere?
[00:12:58] The sun
[00:12:59] is not a driver
[00:13:00] in Earth's current
[00:13:01] changing climate.
[00:13:02] But if it enters
[00:13:03] an extended period
[00:13:04] of tranquility,
[00:13:05] how much
[00:13:06] could it slow
[00:13:07] the pace?
[00:13:08] Again,
[00:13:09] we don't really know.
[00:13:11] To answer
[00:13:12] all these
[00:13:12] critical questions
[00:13:13] that shape
[00:13:14] the fate
[00:13:14] of our society,
[00:13:15] we must unlock
[00:13:17] the sun's secret
[00:13:18] from its fiery core
[00:13:19] to its outer riches.
[00:13:21] For our future,
[00:13:22] for the world
[00:13:23] we leave behind,
[00:13:24] for our children
[00:13:24] and theirs,
[00:13:26] we must transform
[00:13:27] the way we observe
[00:13:28] the sun
[00:13:28] and deepen
[00:13:29] our understanding
[00:13:30] of how it influences
[00:13:31] its surroundings,
[00:13:32] in particular,
[00:13:33] our challenge
[00:13:33] to planet Earth.
[00:13:35] Without doubt,
[00:13:37] this undertaking
[00:13:39] poses formidable
[00:13:39] challenges.
[00:13:41] But it's another
[00:13:42] adventure unlike
[00:13:43] any we've been on
[00:13:44] before.
[00:13:45] Here lies yet again
[00:13:47] another opportunity
[00:13:48] to transcend
[00:13:50] ourselves
[00:13:50] and forge ahead
[00:13:52] with our epic
[00:13:53] journey of progress
[00:13:54] and prosperity.
[00:13:56] For better or worse,
[00:13:59] the sun dictates
[00:13:59] our past,
[00:14:00] our present,
[00:14:01] and our destiny.
[00:14:03] Thank you.
[00:14:04] That was Noor Ibrwafi
[00:14:10] at TED 2024.
[00:14:18] And that's it for today.
[00:14:21] TED Tech is part
[00:14:22] of the TED Audio Collective.
[00:14:23] This episode was produced
[00:14:25] by Nina Bird-Lawrence,
[00:14:26] edited by Alejandra Salazar,
[00:14:29] and fact-checked
[00:14:30] by Julia Dickerson.
[00:14:31] Special thanks
[00:14:32] to Maria Latias,
[00:14:33] Fara DeGrange,
[00:14:34] Daniela Belarezzo,
[00:14:36] and Roxanne Hailech.
[00:14:38] I'm Sherelle Dorsey.
[00:14:39] Thanks for listening in.
[00:14:51] Support for this episode
[00:14:52] comes from the
[00:14:53] University of Illinois
[00:14:54] Geese College of Business
[00:14:56] MBA program,
[00:14:57] known as the IMBA.
[00:14:59] You deserve a flexible
[00:15:00] online degree program
[00:15:02] that delivers the level
[00:15:03] of rich interaction
[00:15:04] and impact you'd experience
[00:15:06] on campus.
[00:15:08] Jacqueline Price-Osafo,
[00:15:09] a graduate of the program,
[00:15:11] can vouch for this.
[00:15:13] My name is Jacqueline
[00:15:14] Price-Osafo.
[00:15:15] I am the Chief Executive Officer
[00:15:17] for the Society of American Archivists.
[00:15:19] I am a graduate
[00:15:20] of the University of Illinois
[00:15:22] Geese College of Business
[00:15:24] IMBA program.
[00:15:26] I did this
[00:15:27] when I was 50 years old.
[00:15:28] I said,
[00:15:29] this is Jackie 5.0
[00:15:30] because I'm 50 years old
[00:15:32] and I'm going back to school
[00:15:33] to get an MBA.
[00:15:34] So I was a little worried
[00:15:36] by the fact that
[00:15:37] chances are I'm probably
[00:15:38] going to be the oldest person
[00:15:39] in my class.
[00:15:40] But it didn't stop me.
[00:15:42] I actually connected
[00:15:43] and formed my own little
[00:15:44] sort of like micro network
[00:15:46] of folks we call ourselves
[00:15:47] the fantastic four
[00:15:49] and I called myself
[00:15:50] the auntie in the group
[00:15:51] because they were all
[00:15:52] in their 30s
[00:15:53] and the places
[00:15:54] where I had gaps
[00:15:55] they helped me
[00:15:56] and the places
[00:15:56] that they had gaps
[00:15:58] I was able to help them.
[00:16:00] So we did amazing
[00:16:01] things together.
[00:16:02] We supported each other.
[00:16:03] We started the journey together
[00:16:04] and the fantastic four
[00:16:06] walked across the stage together
[00:16:07] and we're still friends today.
[00:16:10] When it comes to diversity
[00:16:12] and as we move
[00:16:12] into the space
[00:16:13] of diversity,
[00:16:14] equity,
[00:16:14] inclusion,
[00:16:14] accessibility,
[00:16:15] this program
[00:16:16] offered all of those things.
[00:16:17] So it checked
[00:16:18] all of those boxes for me.
[00:16:19] I saw folks
[00:16:21] who looked like me
[00:16:22] and not only just classmates
[00:16:23] but professors.
[00:16:25] That made me very comfortable
[00:16:26] when sitting in the classroom.
[00:16:28] My ultimate goal
[00:16:29] was to move into
[00:16:30] the C-suite
[00:16:31] to be a CEO.
[00:16:32] The MBA gave me
[00:16:34] the skills that I needed
[00:16:35] where I had some gaps.
[00:16:36] I already had
[00:16:37] a level of confidence
[00:16:38] and this just pushed
[00:16:39] my confidence level
[00:16:40] from probably like
[00:16:41] 500 to 1,000.
[00:16:43] It does make you feel
[00:16:44] good when you walk
[00:16:46] into a room
[00:16:46] with an MBA.
[00:16:47] If you want to walk away
[00:16:49] with the confidence
[00:16:50] and with the security
[00:16:51] that you are
[00:16:53] the baddest person
[00:16:54] in the room,
[00:16:55] that you have
[00:16:55] the skill set
[00:16:56] that you need
[00:16:57] to be better
[00:16:59] than the person
[00:16:59] sitting next to you,
[00:17:01] do this program.
[00:17:03] It will be
[00:17:04] an incredible ride.
[00:17:05] Take the journey.
[00:17:06] Arrive with an interest
[00:17:07] and the Geese College
[00:17:09] of Business MBA program
[00:17:10] will help you leave
[00:17:11] with a purpose.
[00:17:12] Learn more at
[00:17:14] gisonline.illinois.edu.