- Born
- Died
- Birth nameEugene Newman Parker
- Eugene Parker was born on June 10, 1927 in Michigan, USA. He was married to Niesje. He died on March 15, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- SpouseNiesje(1955 - March 15, 2022) (his death, 2 children)
- In 1958, he predicted the existence of the solar wind, the flow of charged particles or plasma from the sun. This concept was initially met with skepticism and ridicule, but was confirmed by observations from NASA's Mariner 2 spacecraft in 1962.
- Astrophysicist who specialized in heliophysics, the study of the sun and other stars. He is best known for his theory of the existence of solar wind, a supersonic flow of particles from the sun's surface. NASA named a spacecraft after him that was designed to travel straight into the sun's crown: the Parker Solar Probe.
- In 2018, NASA plans to launch a spacecraft which will fly within 6.4 million kilometers of the sun's surface, right into the solar atmosphere. It has been named the Parker Solar Probe in honor of Dr. Parker, making it the first NASA mission to be named after a living scientist.
- He studied physics at Michigan State University and the California Institute of Technology. He taught at the University of Utah before moving to the University of Chicago in 1955.
- His hobbies included hiking, camping, woodcarving, and carpentry.
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