Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Two European satellites were successfully launched into orbit on Thursday, marking the beginning of a pioneering and ambitious project to create artificial solar eclipses in space.The launch of the $210 million mission, which took place from the Satish-Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India, is set to revolutionize solar research, providing scientists with an unprecedented opportunity to study the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, in ways never before possible.Once operational next year, the satellites will orbit Earth in an intricate dance, creating artificial eclipses that will last up to six hours—far longer than the mere moments of totality offered by a natural solar eclipse.The extended duration will allow researchers to conduct prolonged observations of the sun’s elusive outer layer, offering fresh insights into some of the most perplexing phenomena in solar science.
A pair of probes creating an artificial total solar eclipse through formation flying. They rocketed into orbit on Dec. 5, 2024 on the first mission to create artificial solar eclipses through fancy formation flying in…
A pair of probes creating an artificial total solar eclipse through formation flying. They rocketed into orbit on Dec. 5, 2024 on the first mission to create artificial solar eclipses through fancy formation flying in space.
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European Space Agency via AP
How Will Artificial Solar Eclipses be Created?The mission, known as Proba-3, involves two cube-shaped spacecraft—each just under five feet in size—designed to fly in formation with extreme precision, separated by a distance of 492 feet.The satellites will work in tandem to align with the sun, with one satellite casting a shadow on the other, mimicking the role of the moon in a natural solar eclipse.The precision flying requires exacting accuracy—within one millimeter, roughly the thickness of a fingernail.Dietmar Pilz, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) director of technology and engineering, said “Not only does this mission have enormous scientific relevance, but it also serves as a groundbreaking test for high-precision formation flying.”The mission will use an advanced array of GPS systems, star trackers, lasers, and radio links to keep the satellites in sync, flying autonomously while maintaining their precise positioning.
The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, April 8, 2024. A pair of European satellites rocketed into orbit Dec. 5, 2024 on the first mission…
The moon partially covers the sun during a total solar eclipse, as seen from Eagle Pass, Texas, April 8, 2024. A pair of European satellites rocketed into orbit Dec. 5, 2024 on the first mission to create artificial solar eclipses through impressive formation flying in space.
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Eric Gay/AP
Unlocking Solar MysteriesFor scientists, the main goal of the mission is to block out the sun’s blinding glare in order to study the corona—a faint, crownlike halo of plasma that surrounds the sun.By observing the sun’s corona with a clearer view, scientists hope to answer key questions about this mysterious phenomenon, including why it is so much hotter than the sun’s visible surface.Additionally, the mission will allow a closer look at coronal mass ejections (CMEs)—violent eruptions of charged particles and magnetic fields that can have a significant affect on Earth.CMEs often cause geomagnetic storms that can disrupt power grids, satellite communications, and even GPS systems, while also producing spectacular auroras in unexpected regions of the world.A New Era of Space ExplorationOrbiting in a highly elliptical path that ranges from 370 miles to 37,000 miles above Earth, the satellites will take nearly 20 hours to complete one orbit.During the six hours when they are at the farthest point in their orbit, the satellites will generate the artificial eclipse.Proba-3 is expected to create hundreds of such eclipses over its two-year mission, with the first scientific data likely to be available by March, following an initial systems check.The two spacecraft will eventually lower their orbits and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere, likely within five years, after completing their mission to investigate the sun.This article contains additional reporting from The Associated Press
