Eugene Parker

“The solar probe is going to a region of space that has never been explored before. It's very exciting that we'll finally get a look. One would like to have some more detailed measurements of what's going on in the solar wind. I'm sure that there will be some surprises. There always are.”

“Space, the whole universe - I know no better place to find new physics.”

“I always looked at myself as a physicist learning new tricks by looking at nature.”

“The tail of the comet always points straight away from the sun, in antisolar direction. Sometimes the tail trails behind, but sometimes it's perpendicular, and sometimes it's ahead of the comet like a headlight on a railroad locomotive.”

“I was always fascinated by how things work and learning about them.”

“I'm proud of the fact that I thought of the solar wind. It was an exercise in pursuing curiosity, which is the main motivation for studying physics from a personal standpoint.”

“The sun is the primary puzzle in the universe.”

“Whenever you have a good idea, it's inevitable some people will criticize it and deny it. Some people will try to prove it's wrong.”

“One simply runs out of energy as you get old. One doesn't take on new tasks of exploration because it takes an extended period of intense thinking and working on it, and that becomes impractical.”