No person has ever touched the Sun. The conditions on the Sun's surface are far too extreme for any human to survive or even approach.
Why Can't a Person Touch the Sun?
The Sun is a giant ball of superheated gas, primarily hydrogen and helium, undergoing nuclear fusion. Its surface, known as the photosphere, has temperatures around 5,500 degrees Celsius (nearly 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit). The Sun's atmosphere extends millions of kilometers into space, with temperatures in the outer corona reaching millions of degrees Celsius.
Attempting to physically "touch" the Sun would result in immediate vaporization due to the intense heat and radiation.
The First Object to "Touch" the Sun
While no human can touch the Sun, a significant milestone in space exploration involved sending an object closer to the Sun than ever before.
According to the reference "Parker Solar Probe: First spacecraft to 'touch' the sun | Space.06-May-2022", the Parker Solar Probe was the first spacecraft to "touch" the Sun.
What Does it Mean for a Spacecraft to "Touch" the Sun?
When scientists say the Parker Solar Probe "touched" the Sun, they mean it entered the Sun's upper atmosphere, specifically the corona. This region is extremely hot and diffuse, but entering it required incredible engineering to protect the spacecraft from the extreme environment.
- Passing the Alfvén Critical Surface: The Parker Solar Probe made history by crossing a boundary known as the Alfvén critical surface. Inside this boundary, solar winds move slower than the Alfvén waves traveling through them. This is considered the point where the spacecraft formally entered the solar atmosphere.
- Studying the Corona: The probe's mission is to study the Sun's outer atmosphere to understand phenomena like solar wind and coronal mass ejections, which can impact Earth.
- Extreme Conditions: The probe withstands brutal conditions thanks to a thick carbon-composite heat shield and sophisticated cooling systems.
The table below summarizes the distinction:
| Object | Ability to Touch Sun? | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| A Person | No | Extreme heat and radiation make it impossible. |
| Spacecraft | Yes (Contextually) | Refers to entering the Sun's atmosphere (corona). |
| Parker Solar Probe | Yes | First spacecraft to enter the solar atmosphere. |
Therefore, while the question asks about a person, the reality is that this achievement belongs to a robotic explorer, the Parker Solar Probe, which accomplished the unprecedented feat of entering the Sun's outer atmosphere.
