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The sun’s corona appears as it would to the human eye during a solar eclipse, but through a green filter.
ESA/proba-3/aspiics
The synchronized movement of the twin satellites has produced the first artificial solar eclipse in space, revealing the burnt corona of the sun in remarkable detail.
The ProBA-3 mission, launched last December, is operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and consists of two satellites positioned 150 meters apart.
One of the satellites, known as Occulter, features 1.4-meter wide discs made from carbon fiber and plastic, effectively blocking sunlight coming from the second satellite, Coronagraph. The alignment accuracy of the satellites is within one millimeter for capturing images.
In March, the satellites autonomously synchronized for extended periods, providing lengthy exposures of the solar eclipse. ESA scientists can stitch these exposures together to generate a comprehensive image of the solar corona, the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere.
“When I first viewed these images, it was unbelievable,” says Damien Galano from ESA. “But shortly after, it transformed into an incredible sense of achievement and pride for all our hard work.”
The image above captures the visible light of the corona, resembling how it would appear to the human eye but through a green filter.
This image illustrates the light emitted from electron-depleted iron in the most heated sections of the corona.
ESA/proba-3/aspiics
The Proba-3 satellite camera also captures light frequencies linked to specific elements within the solar corona, exemplified by the dark green image above.
“We can clearly see the substantial achievements made during COVID,” remarks Galano.
The sun’s corona shown in polarized white light, artificially tinted to look violet.
ESA/proba-3/aspiics
The image above illustrates the sun’s corona, artificially colored purple in polarized white light. This technique allows scientists to distinguish the polarized light from the hot corona from that scattered by interplanetary dust.
These images were primarily captured to verify the ProBA-3 mission’s functionality. When fully operational, they will take pictures of the artificial food every 19.6 hours.
This will enhance our comprehension of solar corona physics, and according to Galano, it will also improve understanding of solar winds and coronal mass ejections that influence space weather.
Join an incredible journey in August 2026 and experience an awe-inspiring total solar eclipse. Topics:
Total Solar Eclipse 2026: Travel from Iceland to Greenland
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Source: www.newscientist.com
