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yesterday

ESA’s Proba-3 Delivers First Artificial Solar Eclipse Images

Proba-3 sustains up to six-hour eclipses to reveal faint coronal features, informing solar models for better space weather forecasts.

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This image provided by the European Space Agency depicts the two spacecraft of the Proba-3 mission aligning to create an eclipse to capture a coronagraph in space. (P. Carril/ESA via AP)

Overview

  • Proba-3’s two satellites—the Coronagraph and Occulter—operate as a single system, flying 150 meters apart with millimeter-level precision through GPS, star trackers and laser sensors.
  • The pair align every 19.6-hour orbit to produce artificial total eclipses lasting up to six hours, allowing continuous observation of the corona’s inner regions.
  • During its commissioning phase the mission has generated 10 artificial eclipses and is on track to deliver nearly 200 over its planned two-year duration.
  • Early images captured by the ASPIICS instrument reveal hot ionized iron loops, solar prominences and helmet streamers with clarity rivaling natural eclipses.
  • Extended coronal observations will feed into advanced computer models and help improve forecasts of solar storms and geomagnetic disturbances.