The total solar eclipse is a rare phenomenon on Earth that astronomers and stargazers often have to travel globally to witness. The European Space Agency is launching the Proba-3 mission with dual spacecraft from India to create artificial eclipses in order to study the sun’s corona. The spacecraft will fly in a precise formation, with one blocking the sun’s face from the other to allow for prolonged observation of the outer layer. The launch of the spacecraft has been postponed due to a technical issue but can be watched via ESA Web TV and ISRO’s YouTube channel once it takes place.
The Proba-3 satellites will align themselves in front of the sun to create an eclipse effect, providing sustained views of the corona for six hours during every orbit throughout a two-year mission. The ESA hopes to uncover the mysteries surrounding the sun’s corona, such as why it is significantly hotter than the sun itself and how coronal mass ejections impact Earth’s space weather. The Proba-3 mission is part of a series of missions under the Proba banner from the ESA, following Earth observation and sun observing satellites. This mission aims to shed light on the elusive outer layer of the sun and provide valuable insights into solar phenomena.
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