Amazing image of Earth buried among the stars of the Milky Way is captured 27 million miles away by Nasa's Parker Solar Probe
- The $1.5 billion Parker Solar Probe (PSP) launched in August on a historic journey to 'touch the sun'
- It will be the first spacecraft to fly through the outermost part of the star's atmosphere, known as its corona
- Nasa has released a new image taken by the probe as it continues its long trip to the star
Nasa has revealed a stunning image of Earth taken by its $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) Parker Solar Probe on its historic journey toward the sun.
The picture, snapped around 27 million miles (43 million km) from our planet, shows Earth as a bright round spot surrounded by thousands of stars dotted throughout our corner of the galaxy.
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) is on a mission to 'touch the sun', and will be the first spacecraft to fly through the outermost part of the star's atmosphere, known as its corona.
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Pictured centre of the right image is Earth as seen from the Parker Solar Prove, a Nasa spacecraft that is currently on a historic journey to 'touch the sun'
The probe launched August 12 and is due to arrive at its destination in November, but before that will pass Venus, using the planet's gravitational pull to align its course - a manoeuvre known as a gravity assist.
In a statement on the new photo, Nasa said: 'On September 25, 2018, Parker Solar Probe captured a view of Earth as it sped toward the first Venus gravity assist of the mission.
'Earth is the bright, round object visible in the right side of this image, taken by Parker Solar Probe's Wide-field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR) instrument.
'The elongated mark toward the bottom of the panel is a lens reflection from the WISPR instrument.'
The probe's WISPR instrument is designed to image the structure of the sun's corona as the spacecraft approaches next month.
PSP's mission is due to last seven years, with the probe set to fly up to 3.8 million miles (6.1 million km) from the sun's surface - seven times closer than any spacecraft before it.
The Parker Solar Probe (artist's impression) is on a mission to 'touch the sun', and will be the first spacecraft to fly through the sun's corona, the outermost part of the star's atmosphere
The average distance between the sun and Earth is 93 million miles (150 million km).
It is hoped that PSP can help scientists to better understand solar flares - brief eruptions of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface that can knock out communications on Earth.
The craft will face extremes in heat and radiation and will reach speeds of up to 430,000 miles per hour (700,000 kph) at its closest flyby of the star.
The craft's kit includes a white light imager called Whisper, which will take images of solar waves as the craft propels through them at high speeds.
To measure the 'bulk plasma' of solar winds - described by Nasa as the 'bread and butter' of the flares - a set of magnetic imaging equipment will also be stored on board.
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