The total solar eclipses are unique, but exactly how to today’s debate after the European space agency includes new satellites together with an “eclipse machine.”
The total solar eclipses that will now occur 14 times every 18 years and 11 days in one place in the world, one each 16 months, generally. According to NASAThis happens once every 366 years in any particular place.
With no luck geography or patience, the European Space Agency (ESA) play-3 missions, which Launched by a PSLV-XL rocket From India Space Space on India on December 5, 2024, only the first images are only sure to attract eclipse chases around the world. The mission was the first to see two satellite orbit in a “Forming accuracy“to someone who acts as the moon to eclipse the day in front of another, focusing on a telescope to the sun to get the recognizable corona.
A decade of making, these first images – from the first successful formation of mission flying demo on May 23 – a view of what to come.
The Corona of the Sun
The solar corona, the outer condition of the sun, a mystery. The sun, the above, about 10,000 degrees fahrenheit (5,500 degrees Celsius), but the Corona is two million degrees of Fahrenheit (about 200 million hottest.
“As well as an amazing thing to see, Corona is also a laboratory for plasma physics and the main source of spacecraft for Corona in Corona spacecracric in Belgium, speaking of Solar Eclipse Conference In Leuven, Belgium.
Get a prominent
Corona observations are important in understanding the odd such as Solar air and Mass Ejection crownsthat can destroy the power and communication systems in the world and can give odd shows to Northern lights. However the Proba-3 images also help the solar physics to see the Corona parts that observers are sometimes found in the whole solar eclipse. “Sometimes, the clouds of relatively cold plasma observed near the sun, creating what we call a prominent,” says Zhukov. Prominents are cooler than the surrounding million-degge plamma in Corona, despite about 10,000 degrees Celsius. “We are very pleased to get a such structure in one of the first images of aspirics,” says Zhukov.
Coronagraphs in space
But there is a problem. The disk of the day is a million hours more than Corona and fully stressed the human eye. The only time to see Corona is found during a general solar eclipse. “They are bad, they are rare and only last a few minutes,” says Zhukov. “The last total solar eclipse of Belgium in 1406, and the next we have Coronags.
art Coronraph A device attached to a telescope blocking direct light from a star – in this case, the day – so that’s what’s around to see. It’s sometimes round. In this case, it is Corona. Unfortunately, Atmosphere on the ground That is scattered that light. In short, they work better in space. “The present Coronagraphs do not match for Proba-3, which will observe Corona on the day near the edge of the solar face,” Jorge Amaya, space in ESA space. “So far, it can only be done during natural solar eclipses.”
The first images of Proba-3
In March, Persa-3’s Two Spacecraft – Coronagraph Satellite and Occulter Satellite – In accordance with 500 feet (150 meters) separately With the correctness of the miltereter of many hours without interruption at ground. The occulter has successfully blocked the disk in the day to throw the shadow of the aspiics – the sensitive instrument of the essay of Coronaghaphaph in Corona. “Having two spacecraft a giant Coronagph in space allowed us to get the corona content with a very degree of observation,” says Damien Sundoor, Playo to think manager. “I’m so glad to see the images, especially because we’ve got it on the first attempt,” says Zhukov. “It’s just a teaser because we’re still at the commission period.”
How are Proa-3 images
The images of themselves are processed by scientists and engineers in the Aspiric Science Operations Center in the Royal Observatory in Belgium. Each complete image – which covers the area from occulted day to the edge of the field of view – built from three images. “The difference between the time is the time, determining how long Coronagaph’s aperture was exposed to the light of Corona,” says Zhukov. “Our ‘artificial eclipse’ images are compared to those earned on a natural eclipse – the difference is that we can do our eclipse once every 19.6-hour orbit.”
Proba-3 will make 1,000 hours of Corona images on its two-year missions – and whoever can download the data. “We have an open data policy – unchangeable data will be published immediately so everyone can calibrate their own data,” says Zhukov.
Pro-3’s Orbit
Solar-poutered Proba-3 satellites have an elliptical orbit with a perigee (nearest point) 373 kilometers) and a limestone for 37,000 kilometers). They just flee to form when Apogee was close because if so that the gravity of the earth, the magnetic field and atmospheric flows their weak. That allows satellites to use a small propellant to try to fly the formation. The positions of Coronagraph satellite itself 492 feet (150 meters) behind the occulter satellite – two orders to the millimeter of a millimeter of flying a millimeter in a military millimeter. 4.4 feet (1.4 meters) occulter drops a 3.15 inch (8 centimetros) shadow of Coronagaph. Strange, it all became autonomously, with proba standing for “project for the awardonomy” onboard “.
“The accuracy achieved is unique,” Dietmar Pilz, ESA director of technology, engineering and quality. “It confirms our years of technology development and positions Esa ahead of Flying Missions formations.”
The first artificial eclipse of solar
Proba-3 is not unique. A joint mission between the US and the Soviet Union, the Apollo-Soyuz’s test project In 1975 the first coronal observations were using Flying formation, with Apollo spacecraft acting as an improvised Coronagraph, allowing the soyuz crew to photograph at Solar Corona. “It’s all done by hand-The image is removed by a window of a Slayuz spacecraft“As Zhukov. The consequences are frustrating, because the thrugter gases around the spacecraft are scattered in light.
With Proba-3, the concept has become a fact, and can be artificial solar eclipses, the revelation of the Solar Corona content without having to wait for a whole Solar eclipse. Are those eclipse chase vigorously? Not at all!
