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USA Today
2 hours ago
- Science
- USA Today
European satellites achieve an artificial eclipse in space to study the sun's corona
European satellites achieve an artificial eclipse in space to study the sun's corona Show Caption Hide Caption Tom O'Grady talks eclipse history Tom O'Grady of Ohio University talks about early man's concept of the moon and sun and its relation to the earth. Two European satellites created an "artificial total solar eclipse" in space, the European Space Agency announced June 16, delivering data that will improve scientists' understanding of the sun and its atmosphere. The agency said the satellites, named Coronagraph and Occulter, flew 429 feet apart in perfect formation for "several hours" without being controlled from the ground to create the artificial eclipse. The Proba-3 mission, according to the agency, helps scientists examine the sun's corona to study solar winds, the continuous flow of matter from the sun into outer space, and the workings of coronal mass ejections. "It is exciting to see these stunning images validate our technologies in what is now the world's first precision formation flying mission," Dietmar Pilz, European Space Agency's director of technology, engineering, and quality, said in a news release. The mission has created 10 artificial eclipses so far, with the longest being five hours, lead scientist Andrei Zhukov told The Associated Press. "We almost couldn't believe our eyes," Zhukov, who works for the Royal Observatory of Belgium, told the news organization service. "This was the first try, and it worked. It was so incredible." How were the artificial eclipses created? During the eclipses, the ASPIICS optical instrument on the Coronagraph captured images of the solar corona while the Occulter blocked out the sun's light. The images were processed by the ASPIICS Science Operations Center at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, where a team of scientists created photos of the corona based on input from the scientific community. "Current coronagraphs are no match for Proba-3, which will observe the sun's corona down almost to the edge of the solar surface. So far, this was only possible during natural solar eclipses," said Jorge Amaya, space weather modelling coordinator at the European Space Agency. The agency added that the Proba-3 mission's images will help computer modeling of the sun's corona. Amaya pointed to an already completed simulation of Proba-3's first observations, and the agency said that the data could help "offer a comprehensive image of the solar phenomena impacting our planet and help citizens and industry prepare against them."
Saudi Gazette
3 hours ago
- Science
- Saudi Gazette
Two European satellites mimic total solar eclipse as scientists aim to study corona
PARIS — A pair of European satellites have created the first artificial solar eclipse by flying in precise formation, providing hours of on-demand totality for scientists. The European Space Agency released the eclipse pictures at the Paris Air Show on Monday. Launched late last year, the orbiting duo have churned out simulated solar eclipses since March while zooming tens of thousands of kilometers above Earth. Flying 150 meters apart, one satellite blocks the sun like the moon does during a natural total solar eclipse as the other aims its telescope at the corona, the sun's outer atmosphere that forms a crown or halo of light. It's an intricate, prolonged dance requiring extreme precision by the cube-shaped spacecraft, less than 1.5 meters in size. Their flying accuracy needs to be within a mere millimetre, the thickness of a fingernail. This meticulous positioning is achieved autonomously through GPS navigation, star trackers, lasers and radio links. Dubbed Proba-3, the $210 million (€181 million) mission has generated 10 successful solar eclipses so far during the ongoing checkout phase. he longest eclipse lasted five hours, said the Royal Observatory of Belgium's Andrei Zhukov, the lead scientist for the orbiting corona-observing telescope. He and his team are aiming for a six-hour totality per eclipse once scientific observations begin in July. Scientists are already thrilled by the preliminary results that show the corona without the need for any special image processing, said Zhukov. "We almost couldn't believe our eyes," Zhukov said in an email. "This was the first try, and it worked. It was so incredible." Zhukov anticipates an average of two solar eclipses per week being produced for a total of nearly 200 during the two-year mission, yielding more than 1,000 hours of totality. That will be a scientific bonanza since full solar eclipses produce just a few minutes of totality when the moon lines up perfectly between Earth and the sun, on average just once every 18 months. The sun continues to mystify scientists, especially its corona, which is hotter than the solar surface. Coronal mass ejections result in billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields being hurled out into space. Geomagnetic storms can result in disrupting power and communication while lighting up the night sky with auroras in unexpected locales. While previous satellites have generated imitation solar eclipses, including the European Space Agency and NASA's Solar Orbiter and Soho observatory, the sun-blocking disk was always on the same spacecraft as the corona-observing telescope. What makes this mission unique, Zhukov said, is that the sun-shrouding disk and telescope are on two different satellites and therefore far apart. The distance between these two satellites will give scientists a better look at the part of the corona closest to the limb of the sun. "We are extremely satisfied by the quality of these images, and again this is really thanks to formation flying" with unprecedented accuracy, ESA's mission manager Damien Galano said from the Paris Air Show. — Euronews
Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Science
- Daily Mirror
Scientists create artificial eclipses in bid to understand solar storms
The European Space Agency has spearheaded a £154 million effort to understand the Sun's corona, which could provide unprecedented insight into to processes behind solar storms Stunning new pictures have captured the delicate moment top scientists were able to recreate a solar eclipse by placing orbiting spacecraft within a fingernail's width of one another tens of thousands of miles above the Earth. The European Space Agency (ESA) launched two satellites into the atmosphere in March last year, making them dance across one another after they settled just 150 metres apart. The two craft had been meticilously placed to within a fingernail's width to create the ideal conditions for study, with scientists hailing "incredible" results from the staged intersection. Incredible pictures have captured the process - which promises to massively advance the world's understanding of its star - on camera. New pictures exhibited by the ESA at the Paris Air Show capture the two spacecraft as they float into position in outer space, with the sun seen in the background before they attempt the delicate atmospheric dance. Another picture from the agency shows the result, with green-hued waves seen shooting out from behind the satellites after they align. The ESA said the pictures were taken by one of the satellites, which was positioned direcly in front of the other as it blocked the Sun, catching its corona - the the star's outer atmosphere. The intricate, prolonged dance requires extreme precision by the cube-shaped spacecraft, which are less than five feet (1.5 metres) in size. Their flying accuracy needs to be within a millimeter, the thickness of a fingernail. The meticulous positioning is achieved autonomously through GPS navigation, star trackers, lasers and radio links, and the entire mission, Dubbed Proba-3, has set the ESA back a massive $210 million (£154 million). But it has generated 10 successful solar eclipses so far during the ongoing checkout phase, the longest of which lasted five hours. Andrei Zhukov of the Royal Observatory of Belgium, the lead scientist for the orbiting corona-observing telescope, said he and his team are aiming to make the clipse last six hours by the time scientific observations begin this coming July. But Mr Zhukov said scientists are already thrilled by the preliminary results that show the corona without the need for any special image processing. He told the Associated Press: "We almost couldn't believe our eyes. This was the first try, and it worked. It was so incredible." Mr Zhukov anticipates an average of two solar eclipses per week being produced for a total of nearly 200 during the two-year mission, yielding more than 1,000 hours of totality in total. Such a significant amount of time would give scientists an unprecedented opportunity to explore the sun's corona, which has mystified physicists for centuries. Full solar eclipses typically produce just a few minutes of totality when the moon lines up perfectly between Earth and the sun - on average just once every 18 months. Coronal mass ejections result in billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields being hurled out into space, occasionally resulting in geomagnetic storms, which can have devastating effects on the Earth.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
A look at the first artificial solar eclipses created by two European satellites
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A pair of European satellites have created the first artificial solar eclipses by flying in precise and fancy formation, providing hours of on-demand totality for scientists. The European Space Agency released the eclipse pictures at the Paris Air Show on Monday. Launched late last year, the orbiting duo have churned out simulated solar eclipses since March while zooming tens of thousands of miles (kilometers) above Earth. Flying 492 feet (150 meters) apart, one satellite blocks the sun like the moon does during a natural total solar eclipse as the other aims its telescope at the corona, the sun's outer atmosphere that forms a crown or halo of light. It's an intricate, prolonged dance requiring extreme precision by the cube-shaped spacecraft, less than 5 feet (1.5 meters) in size. Their flying accuracy needs to be within a mere millimeter, the thickness of a fingernail. This meticulous positioning is achieved autonomously through GPS navigation, star trackers, lasers and radio links. Dubbed Proba-3, the $210 million mission has generated 10 successful solar eclipses so far during the ongoing checkout phase. The longest eclipse lasted five hours, said the Royal Observatory of Belgium's Andrei Zhukov, the lead scientist for the orbiting corona-observing telescope. He and his team are aiming for a wondrous six hours of totality per eclipse once scientific observations begin in July. Scientists already are thrilled by the preliminary results that show the corona without the need for any special image processing, said Zhukov. "We almost couldn't believe our eyes,' Zhukov said in an email. 'This was the first try, and it worked. It was so incredible.' Zhukov anticipates an average of two solar eclipses per week being produced for a total of nearly 200 during the two-year mission, yielding more than 1,000 hours of totality. That will be a scientific bonanza since full solar eclipses produce just a few minutes of totality when the moon lines up perfectly between Earth and the sun — on average just once every 18 months. The sun continues to mystify scientists, especially its corona, which is hotter than the solar surface. Coronal mass ejections result in billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields being hurled out into space. Geomagnetic storms can result, disrupting power and communication while lighting up the night sky with auroras in unexpected locales. While previous satellites have generated imitation solar eclipses — including the European Space Agency and NASA's Solar Orbiter and Soho observatory — the sun-blocking disk was always on the same spacecraft as the corona-observing telescope. What makes this mission unique, Zhukov said, is that the sun-shrouding disk and telescope are on two different satellites and therefore far apart. The distance between these two satellites will give scientists a better look at the part of the corona closest to the limb of the sun. "We are extremely satisfied by the quality of these images, and again this is really thanks to formation flying' with unprecedented accuracy, ESA's mission manager Damien Galano said from the Paris Air Show. ___ AP journalist John Leicester contributed to this report from Paris. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Boston Globe
8 hours ago
- Science
- Boston Globe
First artificial solar eclipses are created by two European satellites
It's an intricate, prolonged dance requiring extreme precision by the cube-shaped spacecraft, less than 5 feet in size. Their flying accuracy needs to be within a mere millimeter, the thickness of a fingernail. This meticulous positioning is achieved autonomously through GPS navigation, star trackers, lasers, and radio links. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Dubbed Proba-3, the $210 million mission has generated 10 successful solar eclipses so far during the ongoing checkout phase. The longest eclipse lasted five hours, said the Royal Observatory of Belgium's Andrei Zhukov, the lead scientist for the orbiting corona-observing telescope. He and his team are aiming for a wondrous six hours of totality per eclipse once scientific observations begin in July. Advertisement Scientists already are thrilled by the preliminary results that show the corona without the need for any special image processing, said Zhukov. 'We almost couldn't believe our eyes,' Zhukov said in an email. 'This was the first try, and it worked. It was so incredible.' Advertisement Zhukov anticipates an average of two solar eclipses per week being produced for a total of nearly 200 during the two-year mission, yielding more than 1,000 hours of totality. That will be a scientific bonanza since full solar eclipses produce just a few minutes of totality when the moon lines up perfectly between Earth and the sun — on average just once every 18 months. The sun continues to mystify scientists, especially its corona, which is hotter than the solar surface. Coronal mass ejections result in billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields being hurled out into space. Geomagnetic storms can result, disrupting power and communication while lighting up the night sky with auroras in unexpected locales. While previous satellites have generated imitation solar eclipses — including the European Space Agency and NASA's Solar Orbiter and Soho observatory — the sun-blocking disk was always on the same spacecraft as the corona-observing telescope. What makes this mission unique, Zhukov said, is that the sun-shrouding disk and telescope are on two different satellites and therefore far apart. The distance between these two satellites will give scientists a better look at the part of the corona closest to the limb of the sun. 'We are extremely satisfied by the quality of these images, and again this is really thanks to formation flying' with unprecedented accuracy, the European Space Agency's mission manager Damien Galano said from the Paris Air Show.
