NASA sent a probe toward the sun. It beamed back its first observations today.

The Parker Solar Probe has flown closer to the sun than any other spacecraft.

NASA launched the probe in August 2018. It’s now sent back information about the sun’s atmosphere and solar wind.

The Sun’s atmosphere is also known as the corona. The Guardian reports, “The corona is a million degrees, but the sun’s surface is only thousands,” said Prof Tim Horbury, a co-investigator on the Parker Solar Probe Fields instrument at Imperial College London.

The probe revealed that solar wind particles are released in “explosive jets” instead of a steady stream like they previously thought.

Horbury told the Guardian, this could help explain why the sun’s atmosphere is so hot compared to the surface.

NASA scientists were also surprised about how dusty the area close to the sun is. They think it is the evaporated remains of asteroids and comets that come close to the sun.

The Parker Solar Probe will be flying even closer to the sun. It’s closest orbit will be 3.83 million miles from the solar surface.

You can read more about the NASA probe’s findings here.