Tag: corona
-
Solar Orbiter makes first ever observations of Sun’s south pole, reveals messy magnetic field
Following a flyby of Venus in February that successfully increased its orbital inclination around the Sun, the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter recently imaged the Sun’s poles for the first time. The images are the first to show how the Sun’s immense magnetic field interacts at its poles, and will improve scientists’ understanding of the…
-
India to launch Eurpope’s Proba-3 spacecraft pair to study the Sun, demonstrate tandem maneuvering in orbit
Artist’s view of Proba-3 on an ISRO PSLV-XL launch vehicle. Graphic: P. Carril/ESA Update 5:46 a.m. EST (1046 UTC): The launch was delayed a day due to a “technical issue in the Proba-3 spacecraft,” per ESA. The European Space Agency is preparing to launch two missions on Wednesday, half a world and half a day…
-
Ahead of total solar eclipse, scientists use spacecraft data to predict the Sun’s corona
On April 8, a total solar eclipse will sweep across the continental United States — the first since 2017 and the last until Aug. 12, 2045. During totality, or the moment at which the Moon is completely covering the Sun, the Sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, and other prominences become visible to the naked…
-
Solar Orbiter discovers plasma jets that could fuel the production of solar wind
Recently, the joint European Space Agency (ESA)/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft discovered an array of tiny jets of material being ejected from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. Ejecting plasma at 100 kilometers per second, the jets last for just 20 to 100 seconds, and could be the source of solar wind. Solar wind is made up of…
-
Researchers discover galactic shield of gas surrounding the Magellanic Cloud galaxies
The largest satellite galaxies of the Milky Way — the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds — have been undergoing a treacherous interaction for billions of years. As the galactic pair are pulled toward the Milky Way, they are constantly orbiting each other and unraveling themselves, creating massive trails of gaseous debris. Yet, the galaxies have…