An approach to flying a solar neutrino detector close to the sun

A concept mission has been proposed by astronomers to fly a neutrino observatory around the Sun to gain a better understanding of what is happening inside the core of the Sun.

There are few tools available to astronomers to peer into the heart of the Sun. As the Sun continuously fuses hydrogen into helium, neutrinos are continuously released as a result of the nuclear reactions. 

The neutrino is a tiny ghost-like particle that rarely interacts with matter, but on Earth, we have built huge detectors to catch the occasional neutrino when it happens to interact with matter.

In the past few decades, astronomers have used neutrinos to not only understand the nuclear processes taking place inside of the Sun but to extend the bounds of the known physics.

As a result of Earth's distance from the Sun, our telescopes on Earth are fundamentally limited. Wouldn't it be great if we put a neutrino observatory in space.

The concept mission has been proposed by a team of astronomers. Space neutrino observatories enable close encounters with the Sun, which is their main advantage. 

The telescope would encounter more than a thousand times as many neutrinos as the Parker Solar Probe if it were to be flown at the same distance.

Getting even closer to the Sun could increase that number by more than 10,000 times. That level of neutrino flux would be unprecedented for observing nuclear processes inside the core of the galaxy.

As the spacecraft orbits around the Sun, it can also detect any anomalies or asymmetries in the Sun's neutrino output, which could indicate the presence of dark matter.

There would be no need for the spacecraft to even get near the Sun to take advantage of what space has to offer. As the path of light bends due to the gravity of the Sun, it meets at a focal point hundreds of AU away.

 A neutrino's path also bends around the Sun, but because neutrinos have mass, their focal point is just 20-40 AU away. A neutrino observatory there would allow astronomers to study neutrinos coming from beyond the galactic center using the Sun as a magnifying lens.

The downside is that neutrino observatories in space would have to be shielded with thick coatings to prevent cosmic rays and other high-energy particles from mimicking neutrino signals. 

The challenge of putting that much weight into space is undeniable. At the moment, the mission is just a concept, but if it works, it could provide a new platform to study not only these tiny particles but also the physics of the Sun.