How two satellites are mimicking total solar eclipses in space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A brace of European satellites person created the archetypal artificial star eclipses by flying successful precise and fancy formation, providing hours of on-demand totality for scientists.

The European Space Agency released the eclipse pictures astatine the Paris Air Show connected Monday. Launched precocious past year, the orbiting duo person churned retired simulated star eclipses since March portion zooming tens of thousands of miles (kilometers) supra Earth.

Flying 492 feet (150 meters) apart, 1 outer blocks the prima similar the satellite does during a earthy full star eclipse arsenic the different aims its scope astatine the corona, the sun's outer ambiance that forms a crown oregon halo of light.

It's an intricate, prolonged creation requiring utmost precision by the cube-shaped spacecraft, little than 5 feet (1.5 meters) successful size. Their flying accuracy needs to beryllium wrong a specified millimeter, the thickness of a fingernail. This meticulous positioning is achieved autonomously done GPS navigation, prima trackers, lasers and vigor links.

Dubbed Proba-3, the $210 cardinal ngo has generated 10 palmy star eclipses truthful acold during the ongoing checkout phase. The longest eclipse lasted 5 hours, said the Royal Observatory of Belgium's Andrei Zhukov, the pb idiosyncratic for the orbiting corona-observing telescope. He and his squad are aiming for a wondrous six hours of totality per eclipse erstwhile technological observations begin.

Scientists already are thrilled by the preliminary results that amusement the corona without the request for immoderate peculiar representation processing, said Zhukov.

"We astir couldn’t judge our eyes,” Zhukov said successful an email. “This was the archetypal try, and it worked. It was truthful incredible.”

Zhukov anticipates an mean of 2 star eclipses per week being produced for a full of astir 200 during the two-year mission, yielding much than 1,000 hours of totality. That volition beryllium a technological bonanza since afloat star eclipses nutrient conscionable a fewer minutes of totality erstwhile the satellite lines up perfectly betwixt Earth and the prima — connected mean conscionable erstwhile each 18 months.

The prima continues to mystify scientists, particularly its corona, which is hotter than the star surface. Coronal wide ejections effect successful billions of tons of plasma and magnetic fields being hurled retired into space. Geomagnetic storms tin result, disrupting powerfulness and connection portion lighting up the nighttime entity with auroras successful unexpected locales.

While erstwhile satellites person generated imitation star eclipses — including the European Space Agency and NASA's Solar Orbiter and Soho observatory — the sun-blocking disk was ever connected the aforesaid spacecraft arsenic the corona-observing telescope. What makes this ngo unique, Zhukov said, is that the sun-shrouding disk and scope are connected 2 antithetic satellites and truthful acold apart.

The region betwixt these 2 satellites volition springiness scientists a amended look astatine the portion of the corona closest to the limb of the sun.

"We are highly satisfied by the prime of these images, and again this is truly acknowledgment to enactment flying” with unprecedented accuracy, ESA’s ngo manager Damien Galano said from the Paris Air Show.

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AP writer John Leicester contributed to this study from Paris.

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