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2w ago

ESA’s Proba-3 Satellites Stage First Artificial Solar Eclipse in Space

Now in its commissioning phase, Proba-3 is refining millimetre-level formation flying to prolong orbital eclipses for deeper study of the sun’s corona.

Image
Image
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 twin satellites performed the first artificial total solar eclipse in orbit, capturing unprecedented images of the sun’s corona without relying on a natural eclipse window.
  • The Occulter and Coronagraph spacecraft maintain a 150-metre separation with millimetre-level precision, aligning a 1.4-metre disc to cast an 8-centimetre shadow onto the coronagraph’s ASPIICS instrument.
  • The mission can produce an artificial eclipse every 19.6 hours and sustain totality for up to six hours, vastly exceeding the few-minute duration of terrestrial eclipses.
  • Equipped with ASPIICS, a digital absolute radiometer and a 3D energetic electron spectrometer, Proba-3 is gathering data on coronal structure, solar irradiance and charged particles to advance space weather science.
  • In its commissioning phase, Proba-3’s team is refining formation flying to extend eclipse durations and integrate the new coronal observations into computer models for improved solar activity forecasting.