Eugene Newman Parker (June 10, 1927 – March 15, 2022) was an American solar astrophysicist. In the mid-1950s—developed the theory of the supersonic solar wind and predicted the Parker spiral shape of the solar magnetic field in the outer solar system.
In 1987, Parker proposed that the solar corona might be heated by myriad tiny "nanoflares" (similar to solar flares) that would happen all over the surface of the Sun.
Parker spent four years at the University of Utah and has been at the University of Chicago since 1955. Parker was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1967.
In 2017, NASA renamed its Solar Probe Plus to Parker Solar Probe in his honor, marking the first time NASA had named a spacecraft after a living person.
In 2018, the American Physical Society awarded him the Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research.
Parker died on March 15, 2022 from problems caused by Parkinson's disease at a retirement home in Hyde Park, Chicago, Illinois at the age of 94.