American solar physicist (1927?2022)
Eugene Newman Parker
(June 10, 1927 ? March 15, 2022) was an American
solar
and
plasma physicist
. In the 1950s he proposed the existence of the
solar wind
and that the magnetic field in the
outer Solar System
would be in the shape of a
Parker spiral
, predictions that were later confirmed by spacecraft measurements. In 1987, Parker proposed the existence of
nanoflares
, a leading candidate to explain the
coronal heating problem
.
Parker obtained his PhD from
Caltech
and spent four years as a
postdoctoral researcher
at the
University of Utah
. He joined
University of Chicago
in 1955 and spent the rest of his career there, holding positions in the physics department, the
astronomy
and
astrophysics
department, and the
Enrico Fermi Institute
. Parker was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences
in 1967. In 2017,
NASA
named its
Parker Solar Probe
in his honor, the first NASA spacecraft named after a living person.
[1]
Biography
[
edit
]
Parker was born in
Houghton, Michigan
to Glenn and Helen (MacNair) Parker on June 10, 1927.
[2]
He received his
Bachelor of Science
degree in
physics
from
Michigan State University
in 1948 and a
Doctor of Philosophy
from Caltech in 1951.
[3]
Parker spent four years at the
University of Utah
before joining the University of Chicago in 1955, where he spent the rest of his career.
[3]
He held positions in Chicago's physics department,
astronomy
and
astrophysics
department, and the
Enrico Fermi Institute
.
[4]
Parker was elected to the
National Academy of Sciences
in 1967.
[4]
Theoretical research
[
edit
]
In the mid-1950s, Parker developed the theory of supersonic
solar wind
and predicted the
Parker spiral
shape of the solar magnetic field in the
outer Solar System
. His theoretical modeling was not immediately accepted by the astronomical community: when he submitted the results to
The Astrophysical Journal
, two reviewers recommended its rejection. The editor of the journal,
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
, overruled the reviewers and published the paper anyway.
[5]
[6]
Parker's theoretical predictions were confirmed by satellite observations a few years later, especially the 1962
Mariner 2
mission.
[7]
Parker's work increased understanding of the
solar corona
, the
solar wind
, the
magnetic fields
of both the Earth and the Sun, and their complex electromagnetic interactions. In 1972, he formulated what became known as the
Parker theorem
, which showed how the
topology
of
magnetic field lines
in the
solar corona
of the Sun (and similar stars) can produce
flares
at
X-ray
energies.
[8]
[9]
He published several
textbooks
, including
Cosmical Magnetic Fields
in 1979, and one on magnetic fields in
X-ray astronomy
in 1994.
[10]
Seeking to address the
coronal heating problem
, in 1987 Parker proposed that the solar corona might be heated by myriad tiny "
nanoflares
", miniature brightenings resembling
solar flares
that would occur all over the surface of the Sun. Parker's theory became a leading candidate to explain the problem.
[4]
[10]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Parker was married for 67 years to his wife, Niesje, with whom he had two children. He died in Chicago on March 15, 2022, at the age of 94.
[2]
[3]
Honors and awards
[
edit
]
- 1969:
Arctowski Medal
of the
National Academy of Sciences
[11]
- 1969:
Henry Norris Russell Lectureship
of the
American Astronomical Society
[12]
- 1978:
George Ellery Hale Prize
, Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society, first time this prize was awarded
[13]
- 1979:
Chapman Medal
, Royal Astronomical Society
[14]
- 1989:
National Medal of Science
[15]
- 1990:
William Bowie Medal
[4]
- 1992:
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
[16]
- 1997:
Bruce Medal
[10]
- 2003:
Kyoto Prize
[17]
[18]
- 2003:
James Clerk Maxwell Prize
of the
American Physical Society
. Citation: "For seminal contributions in
plasma astrophysics
, including predicting the
solar wind
, explaining the
solar dynamo
, formulating the theory of
magnetic reconnection
, and the
instability
which predicts the escape of the
magnetic fields
from the galaxy."
[19]
- 2010: Member of the
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
.
[20]
- 2017:
NASA
renamed its
Solar Probe Plus
to
Parker Solar Probe
after Parker,
[21]
the first time that a space vessel was named after a living person.
[22]
[2]
Parker was present at its August 12, 2018, launch.
- 2018: Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research of the
American Physical Society
. Citation: "For fundamental contributions to space physics, plasma physics, solar physics and astrophysics for over 60 years."
[23]
- 2020:
Crafoord Prize
in Astronomy
[24]
Books
[
edit
]
- Interplanetary Dynamical Processes
, 1963, Interscience Publishers.
ISBN
978-0-47-065916-8
.
- Cosmical Magnetic Fields: Their Origin and their Activity
, 1979, Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-851290-5
.
- Spontaneous Current Sheets in Magnetic Fields: With Applications to Stellar X-rays
, 1994, Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-507371-3
.
- Conversations on Electric and Magnetic Fields in the Cosmos
, 2007, Princeton University Press.
ISBN
978-0-691-12841-2
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Eugene Parker, 'legendary figure' in solar science and namesake of Parker Solar Probe, 1927-2022 | University of Chicago News"
.
news.uchicago.edu
. March 16, 2022
. Retrieved
January 7,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
Chang, Kenneth (March 17, 2022).
"Eugene N. Parker, 94, Dies; Predicted the Existence of Solar Wind"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
March 17,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
Lerner, Louise (March 16, 2022).
"Eugene Parker, 'legendary figure' in solar science and namesake of Parker Solar Probe, 1927?2022"
. University of Chicago
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Tatarewicz, Joseph N.
"Eugene N. Parker (1912? )"
.
Honors program
.
American Geophysical Union
. Archived from
the original
on December 12, 2013
. Retrieved
December 7,
2013
.
- ^
Parker, E. N. (1997), "The martial art of scientific publication",
EOS Transactions
,
78
(37): 391,
Bibcode
:
1997EOSTr..78..391P
,
doi
:
10.1029/97EO00251
- ^
Roach, John.
"Astrophysicist Recognized for Discovery of Solar Wind"
.
National Geographic News
. National Geographic. Archived from
the original
on August 30, 2003
. Retrieved
June 2,
2017
.
- ^
Chang, Kenneth (August 10, 2018).
"NASA's Parker Solar Probe Is Named for Him. 60 Years Ago, No One Believed His Ideas About the Sun"
.
The New York Times
.
After Mariner 2, 'everyone agreed the solar wind existed,' Dr. Parker said.
- ^
Parker, E. N. (1990),
"Formal mathematical solutions of the force-free equations, spontaneous discontinuities, and dissipation in large-scale magnetic fields"
,
Physics of Magnetic Flux Ropes
, Washington, D. C.: American Geophysical Union, pp. 195?202
, retrieved
January 7,
2024
- ^
Chhabra, Sherry (April 30, 2022).
"Obituary: Eugene N. Parker (1927 - 2022)"
.
SolarNews
. Retrieved
January 7,
2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
Tenn, Joseph S.
"Eugene Newman Parker: 1997 Bruce Medalist"
. Sonoma State University
. Retrieved
December 7,
2013
.
- ^
"Arctowski Medal"
.
National Academy of Sciences
. Archived from
the original
on December 29, 2010
. Retrieved
February 13,
2011
.
- ^
"Henry Norris Russell Lectureship"
.
aas.org
.
American Astronomical Society
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
.
- ^
"George Ellery Hale Prize ? Previous Winners"
.
spd.aas.org
. AAS Solar Physics Division
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
.
- ^
"Chapman Medal winners"
(PDF)
.
Awards, medals and prizes
. Royal Astronomical Society
. Retrieved
October 9,
2019
.
- ^
"Eugene N. Parker"
.
The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details
.
National Science Foundation
. Retrieved
December 7,
2013
.
- ^
"The Gold Medal"
(PDF)
. Royal Astronomical Society. 2021
. Retrieved
December 20,
2021
.
- ^
"Citation: Eugene Newman Parker"
.
Kyoto Prize
. Inamori Foundation. Archived from
the original
on December 11, 2013
. Retrieved
December 7,
2013
.
- ^
Roach, John (August 27, 2003).
"Astrophysicist Recognized for Discovery of Solar Wind"
.
National Geographic News
. Archived from
the original
on August 30, 2003
. Retrieved
December 7,
2013
.
- ^
"2003 James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics Recipient"
.
Prizes, Awards and Fellowships
.
American Physical Society
. Retrieved
December 7,
2013
.
- ^
"Gruppe 2: Fysikkfag (herunder astronomi, fysikk og geofysikk)"
(in Norwegian).
Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
. Archived from
the original
on September 27, 2011
. Retrieved
October 7,
2010
.
- ^
N. Davis (May 31, 2017).
"Nasa's hotly anticipated solar mission renamed to honour astrophysicist Eugene Parker"
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"NASA Renames Solar Probe Mission to Honor Pioneering Physicist Eugene Parker"
.
NASA
. May 31, 2017
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"Award honors Prof. Eugene Parker's lifetime of physics research"
.
UChicago News
. January 31, 2018
. Retrieved
February 1,
2018
.
- ^
"The Crafoord Prizes in Mathematics and Astronomy 2020"
. January 30, 2020
. Retrieved
March 17,
2022
.
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