European Satellites Create First Artificial Solar Eclipse
Cape Canaveral:
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Axiom-4 Mission: Why India's Shubhanshu Shukla is still not in space, the reasons behind the delays
The Axiom-4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS) was delayed again on Friday — the sixth time the scheduled liftoff was put off. The mission, themed 'Realize the Return', is historic in many ways but has seen multiple postponements. Without specifying the next launch date, Axiom Space, which is carrying out the mission, released a statement saying: 'NASA has made the decision to stand down from the launch on Sunday, June 22 and will target a new launch date in the coming days.' The mission was to take off from Kennedy Space Centre on June 22 at 1:12 pm. With an initial launch date of May 29, the mission has been postponed several times, owing to problems in the electrical harness of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that was to carry the astronauts, a liquid oxygen leak in the Falcon-9 rocket, inclement weather in the flight path, and repairs needed to fix leaks in ISS's Zvezda module. 'Because of the space station's interconnected and interdependent systems, NASA wants to ensure the station is ready for additional crew members, and the agency is taking the time necessary to review data,' the space agency said in a statement. Here's a look at the delays and the reasons behind each postponement: 📌 May 29: Originally targeted for May 29, the launch was deferred to June 8 due to 'observations in an electrical harness in the Crew Dragon Module,' according to a statement from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). 📌 June 8: A delay in the preparedness of the Falcon 9 vehicle for the launch meant the launch was deferred by one day to June 09. 📌 June 9: The Axiom-4 launch couldn't take place, this time postponed to June 10, due to unfavourable weather conditions. 📌 June 10: An oxygen leak was detected in the engine, along with an issue in one of the engine actuators. 'Additional observation of oxygen leakage in the engine bay was observed during the preparation for hot fire test conducted on June 08, 2025. Moreover, there was an observation of an anomaly in one of the engine actuators, which was replaced along with the controller,' ISRO said in a statement. 'Anticipating the quick resolution of the LOX leak issue, the launch was rescheduled to June 11, 2025,' it added. 📌 June 11: NASA informed that it was working with the Russian space agency to evaluate a 'new pressure signature' that could indicate a leak in the back section of one of the Russian modules of the space station — ISS Zvezda. 'NASA informed that they are working with Roscosmos to evaluate a new pressure signature indicating a leak in the aft most segment of the ISS Zvezda Russian service module, after the recent repair attempt'. ISRO said the launch was being postponed to 'assess the situation and determine the need for further troubleshooting'. 📌 June 19: ISRO said the launch had to be postponed again. The revised date was arrived at after detailed discussions involving teams from ISRO, Poland, and Hungary with Axiom Space; consultations between Axiom Space, NASA, and SpaceX; and an assessment of the predicted weather conditions in the path of the flight. 'Based on the readiness status of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle, the Dragon spacecraft, repairs in the Zvezda module of the Space Station, ascent corridor weather conditions, and the health and preparedness of the crew in quarantine, Axiom Space has informed that the next probable launch date is 22 June 2025,' ISRO said in a statement. 📌 June 20: Two days before the last scheduled lift-off date, NASA said the mission was being postponed again. 'NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX continue reviewing launch opportunities for Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station. NASA has made the decision to stand down from a launch on Sunday, June 22, and will target a new launch date in the coming days.' the US space agency said in a statement. NASA said it needs 'additional time to continue evaluating International Space Station operations after recent repair work in the aft (back) most segment of the orbital laboratory's Zvezda service module'. The Axiom-4 mission will see India's Shubhanshu Shukla become only the second astronaut in space from the country and the first one to go to the ISS. Former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, Peggy Whitson, will command the commercial mission, while ISRO astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as the pilot. Shukla's experience will also help India's own ambitions to send humans to space on its own craft.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
'City-Killer' Asteroid May Hit Moon, Hurl Deadly Debris Toward Earth
NASA scientists now believe that asteroid 2024 YR4, once thought to pose a slight threat to Earth, may instead collide with the Moon in the coming years. New calculations suggest a 4.3% chance of impact in 2031. First detected on December 27, 2024, by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System in Hawaii, YR4 passed close to Earth just two days earlier. It orbits the Sun every four years. Recent observations in May 2025 from the James Webb Space Telescope estimate the asteroid's size between 174 and 220 feet (53-67 metres), roughly the height of a 10-storey building or the wingspan of a Boeing 747. Earlier estimates ranged from 131 to 295 feet. Data from NASA's Centre for Near Earth Object Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory indicate the likelihood of the asteroid hitting the Moon has steadily risen from 1.7% in February to 3.8% in April, and now to 4.3%. If it does impact the Moon, it's expected to strike the near side, offering a rare chance for scientists to observe crater formation in real time. For now, YR4 is too distant to be tracked by telescopes. It will next approach Earth again in December 2028. "While an Earth impact by 2024 YR4 on December 22, 2032 has now been ruled out, it continues to have a non-zero probability of impacting the Moon at this time," the researchers wrote in their preliminary report, which has not yet been peer-reviewed. Asteroid 2024 YR4 is considered rare, once holding over a 1% impact probability-an extremely unusual threat level. NASA data suggests such an event would occur roughly once in 1,000 years. It's been compared to asteroid Apophis, which once ranked Level 4 on the Torino scale. Apophis will pass close to Earth in 2029, offering a rare visual encounter.
India.com
2 hours ago
- India.com
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's ISS space mission Axiom-4 postponed for sixth time by NASA due to..., new date...
New Delhi: The Axiom-4 mission to take Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS) has been postponed for the sixth time. It was to be launched on June 22, but it was postponed due to security check of ISS. Earlier this mission was to be launched on June 11, but it was postponed due to oxygen leak in the propulsion bay. Second Indian after Rakesh Sharma In Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), four astronauts from four countries are going to the space station for 14 days. They include Peggy Whitson from the USA, Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Hungary's Tibor Kapu. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, referred to as Shux by his crewmates, will become India's second astronaut in space and the first one to go to the ISS. In 1984, Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma spent almost eight days on board the Soviet Salyut-7 Orbital Station. NASA said that more time is needed to review and conduct safety checks on the recent repair work done in the rear of the ISS's Zvezda service module. Many systems of the space station are interconnected, so it is important for the new team to have all technical systems fully ready. Oxygen leak SpaceX teams need more time to fix the liquid oxygen (LOX/ LOXygen) leak found in the booster inspection after the static fire test and will announce the new launch date once the repair is complete and the range is available. Objective of the mission The main objective of the Ax-4 mission is to do research in space and test new technology. This mission is also to promote private space travel and is part of the Axiom Space planning, which plans to build a commercial space station (Axiom Station) in the future. Scientific experiments: Conducting various experiments in microgravity. Technology testing: Testing and development of new technologies in space. International collaboration: Providing a platform to astronauts from different countries. Educational activities: Inspiring people on Earth from space and spreading awareness. About Shubhanshu Shukla Shubhanshu Shukla joined the Indian Air Force in 2006 and has also been selected for ISRO's Gaganyaan mission, which is India's first human space mission. To become an astronaut, he took special training in Russia and America. In this, he learned to work in microgravity, emergency handling, and scientific experiments.
