This man, whom no one believed in, illuminated one of the greatest mysteries of the universe: Who is Eugene Parker?

The only person who was sure that he was telling the truth was himself. His magnificent discovery, which had not been accepted by anyone until that day, would give him a priceless gift when he turned 90. Eugene Parker, the man no one believed in, had illuminated one of the greatest mysteries of the universe.

Many doors were closed in your face

While we were sending names to Mars and buying tickets to the Moon, we left traces in space that we had not left behind on Earth. While everyone thought there was a giant vacuum machine in the infinite depth of space, Eugene Parker signed the 'middle of nowhere'. Contrary to popular belief, he discovered the solar winds in space were far from vacuum or nothingness and that the magnetic field in the outer Solar System would be in the form of a 'Parker spiral'. All the doors he knocked on to publish his discovery, which he made when he was only in his 20s, were closed in his face. There had to be a reward for his efforts, and he embraced it and never gave up.

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.

His theoretical modeling was not immediately accepted by the astronomy community. When he submitted the results to The Astrophysical Journal, two reviewers recommended rejecting the study. The editor of the journal, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, rejected the referees and published the article. Parker's theoretical predictions were confirmed by satellite observations, most notably the 1962 Mariner 2 mission. Years passed while he was trying without giving up. Finally, the spacecraft sent by the Russians now proved the accuracy of the discovery. Parker proved all the words spoken to him over the years wrong, and one by one he embarrassed those who thought he was talking nonsense.

When Parker, one of the most important explorers of the 20th century, turned 90, a grand gesture was made by NASA and he was given his due. Parker was also the guest of honor when the spacecraft designed for solar research bearing his name was launched in 2018. Besides the discovery he made, his greatest chance was to live long. He was able to see the final point of his discoveries and space technologies before he passed away at the age of 94.

When Eugene Parker passed away last year, on March 15, 2022, two important things remained. The first was the Parker Solar Probe, one of history's greatest discoveries and one that still continues its active space mission. But perhaps even more important than that, Parker proved to everyone who had hope how important it is to never give up and, most of all, to have self-confidence.

--------------------------

Eugene N. Parker, 94, Dies; Predicted the Existence of Solar Wind

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/17/science/space/eugene-n-parker-dead.html