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#120 by bolun on 08 Mar, 2022 13:24
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Solar Orbiter crosses the Earth-Sun line as it heads for the SunQuote
The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft is speeding towards its historic first close pass of the Sun. On 14 March, the spacecraft will pass the orbit of Mercury, the scorched inner planet of our Solar System, and on 26 March it will reach closest approach to the Sun.
Today, Solar Orbiter is crossing directly between the Earth and the Sun, about halfway between our planet and its parent star, and this allows for a unique study of space weather and the Sun-Earth connection.QuoteOn 26 March, Solar Orbiter will be less than one-third of the distance from the Sun to the Earth, and it is designed to survive this close for relatively extended periods of time. It will spend from 14 March to 6 April inside the orbit of Mercury. Around perihelion, the name for closest approach to the Sun, Solar Orbiter will bring high resolution telescopes closer than ever before to the Sun.
Together with data and images from Solar Orbiter’s other instruments, these could reveal more information about the miniature flares dubbed campfires that the mission revealed in its first images.QuoteThe 26 March perihelion passage is one of the major events in the mission. All ten instruments will be operating simultaneously to gather as much data as possible.
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#121 by Rondaz on 14 Mar, 2022 13:30
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Getting closer! Today we’re passing the orbit of Mercury, on our way to a ~50 million km flyby of our #Sun on 26 March. We’ll be inside the orbit of Mercury until 6 April.
https://twitter.com/ESASolarOrbiter/status/1503330787969712128 -
#122 by Rondaz on 21 Mar, 2022 08:55
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#SolarOrbiter is heading for its closest approach of the Sun yet: on 26 March it will pass within ~50 million km (inside the orbit of Mercury) collecting data on our nearest star.
https://twitter.com/ESASolarOrbiter/status/1505827476957716482 -
#123 by bolun on 26 Mar, 2022 14:25
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The Sun in high resolution
The Sun as seen by Solar Orbiter in extreme ultraviolet light from a distance of roughly 75 million kilometres. The image is a mosaic of 25 individual images taken on 7 March by the high resolution telescope of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument. Taken at a wavelength of 17 nanometers, in the extreme ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum, this image reveals the Sun’s upper atmosphere, the corona, which has a temperature of around a million degrees Celsius. In total, the final image contains more than 83 million pixels in a 9148 x 9112 pixel grid, making it the highest resolution image of the Sun’s full disc and outer atmosphere, the corona, ever taken.
An image of Earth is also included for scale, at the 2 o’clock position.
Related article: Zooming into the Sun with Solar Orbiter
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/03/The_Sun_in_high_resolution
Image credit: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI team; Data processing: E. Kraaikamp (ROB)
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#124 by bolun on 26 Mar, 2022 14:27
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https://twitter.com/ESASolarOrbiter/status/1507673466220204034Quote
Happy perihelion day! Today we're flying by the #Sun at about 48 million km, in one of many close perihelion passes throughout our mission. Here's a taste of what's to come 👉https://esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Zooming_into_the_Sun_with_Solar_Orbiter #WeAreAllSolarOrbiters
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#125 by bolun on 27 Mar, 2022 18:45
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https://twitter.com/ESASolarOrbiter/status/1508009681557635073Quote
Happy SUNday! ☀️ #SolarOrbiter passed through a close solar perihelion yesterday, but there is so much more to come over the next years as we eventually get those much awaited views of the Sun's poles. Here's how we'll do it👉
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/How_to_get_the_best_view_of_the_Sun -
#126 by Frasco on 30 Aug, 2022 08:46
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Solar Orbiter will make his 3rd gravity assist fly-by into Venus this weekend. It will serve also as its 1st change in the orbit in respect to the Sun
https://twitter.com/ESASolarOrbiter/status/1564184488636203009 -
#127 by bolun on 05 Sep, 2022 19:10
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Coronal mass ejection hits Solar Orbiter before Venus flybyQuote
On 30 Aug, a large coronal mass ejection shot from the Sun in the direction of Venus. Not long later, the storm arrived at the second planet from the Sun. As the data continues to come in from Solar Orbiter, this strike reveals why ‘in situ’ monitoring of space weather and its effects on the bodies, and spacecraft, of the Solar System are so important.
Fortunately, there were no negative effects on the spacecraft as the ESA-NASA solar observatory is designed to withstand and in fact measure violent outbursts from our star – although Venus doesn’t always get off so lightly. Coronal mass ejections have a tendency of eroding Venus’ atmosphere, stripping off gasses as they whoosh by. -
#128 by Rondaz on 06 Sep, 2022 09:45
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One minute you're on your way to #Venus, to use its gravity to bring you closer to the Sun. The next minute the Sun lashes you both with an enormous coronal mass ejection!
It's no easy job being a #SolarOrbiter..
https://twitter.com/esaoperations/status/1567037379961008128 -
#129 by Rondaz on 12 Sep, 2022 10:19
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With data from its closest pass of the #Sun yet, the ESA/NASA #SolarOrbiter spacecraft has found compelling clues about the origin of a magnetic phenomenon around our star...
https://twitter.com/esa/status/1569263228412170241 -
#130 by bolun on 13 Sep, 2022 21:36
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How a solar switchback is formed
Solar Orbiter has made the first ever remote sensing observation of a magnetic phenomenon called a solar ‘switchback’, proving their origin in the solar surface and pointing to a mechanism that might help accelerate the solar wind.
The central image shows the Sun as seen by the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument on 25 March 2022. An active region on the Sun is indicated, which is thought to be the source of the observed ‘switchback’ identified in the solar corona by the Metis instrument.
An analysis of the outflow velocity in the corona shows that the switchback corresponds to very slow-moving plasma (image at right). This links it to the active region as such slow speeds would be expected above an active region that has yet to release its stored energy.
The magnetic field line sketches show the chain of events that are thought to be taking place in the magnetic field lines to generate the switchback. Active regions on the Sun can feature open and closed magnetic field lines. The closed lines arch up into the solar atmosphere before curving round back into the Sun. The open field lines connect with the interplanetary magnetic field of the Solar System. When an open magnetic region interacts with a closed region, the magnetic field lines can reconnect, creating an approximately S-shape field line and producing a burst of energy. As the field line responds to the reconnection and the release of energy, a kink is set propagating outwards. This is the switchback. A similar switchback is also sent in the opposite direction, down the field line and into the Sun.
This is the first ever remote sensing observation of a switchback, and may provide a mechanism that might help accelerate the solar wind.
Related article: Solar Orbiter solves magnetic switchback mystery
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/08/How_a_solar_switchback_is_formed
Image credit: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI & Metis Teams and D. Telloni et al. (2022); Zank et al. (2020)
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#131 by bolun on 11 Oct, 2022 19:27
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https://twitter.com/ESASolarOrbiter/status/1579435315739394050Quote
#SolarOrbiter is heading for the next close approach of the #Sun this week at approx 0.29 AU at 19:12 UTC (21:12 CEST) on Weds 12 Oct 😎
#WeAreAllSolarOrbiters #StayTuned #ExploreFarther
https://esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Solar_Orbiter_perihelia_and_flybys -
#132 by bolun on 31 Oct, 2022 16:20
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https://twitter.com/esascience/status/1585606409349222401Quote
#SolarOrbiter's second close encounter with the Sun is delivering stunning data of our home star
This movie comes from 13 Oct when @esasolarorbiter’s @EuiTelescope returned the highest resolution movie of the quiet corona ever taken
📹 https://esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2022/10/Solar_Orbiter_s_unprecedented_view_of_the_quiet_corona #ExploreFarther -
#133 by bolun on 24 Aug, 2023 19:47
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Solar Orbiter discovers tiny jets that could power the solar windQuote
The ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered a multitude of tiny jets of material escaping from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. Each jet lasts between 20 and 100 seconds, and expels plasma at around 100 km/s. These jets could be the long-sought-after source of the solar wind.
QuoteThe data comes from Solar Orbiter’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument. Images of the Sun’s south pole taken by EUI on 30 March 2022 reveal a population of faint, short-lived features that are associated with small jets of plasma being ejected from the Sun’s atmosphere.
Image credit: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
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#134 by FutureSpaceTourist on 06 Sep, 2023 12:20
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https://twitter.com/esasolarorbiter/status/1699395114676744619Quote
📷🔧A last minute camera ‘hack’ on #SolarOrbiter’s @EuiTelescope has enabled a new mode of operation to record part of the Sun’s atmosphere at extreme ultraviolet wavelengths that has been almost impossible to image until now 🔗
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Camera_hack_lets_Solar_Orbiter_peer_deeper_into_Sun_s_atmosphere
twitter.com/esasolarorbiter/status/1699395329353720094QuoteBefore launch, a small ‘thumb’ was added to the door of the instrument. As the door slides open to let light into the camera, if it is stopped halfway, the thumb covers the Sun’s bright disc & EUI can detect the million-times fainter ultraviolet light from the surrounding corona
https://twitter.com/esasolarorbiter/status/1699395450069983319QuoteTests with the EUI “occulter mode” have been on-going since 2021 and the team are confident in its successful operation. A recent paper in @AandA_journal explains the details
👉https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2023/06/aa46039-23/aa46039-23.html
twitter.com/esasolarorbiter/status/1699395770510684530Quote🎥 The movie shows an ultraviolet image of the Sun’s corona taken using the EUI occulter. An ultraviolet image of the Sun’s disc taken by @NASASun STEREO at the same time has been superimposed in the middle. Details👉 https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2023/09/A_new_way_to_view_the_Sun
https://twitter.com/esasolarorbiter/status/1699396014304596068QuoteThis mode of operation will almost certainly influence new solar instruments for future missions. Instead of needing a coronagraph AND a camera, these promising results suggest the two could be combined! 🤝 #WeAreAllSolarOrbiters
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#135 by jacqmans on 28 Mar, 2024 08:52
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Tomorrow, ESA and NASA team up to study solar wind
28/03/2024
In the run up to April’s total solar eclipse, ESA-led Solar Orbiter and NASA-led Parker Solar Probe are both at their closest approach to the Sun. They are taking the opportunity to join hands in studying the driving rain of plasma that streams from the Sun, fills the Solar System, and causes dazzlement and destruction at Earth.
Both Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe have very eccentric orbits, meaning that they fly in near to the Sun to get a close-up look, and then fly far out to give their onboard tech a chance to recover from the intense heat and radiation. During the next week, for the first time ever, the two spacecraft will both be at their closest approach to the Sun – what we call the ‘perihelion’ – at the same time.
What’s more, this closest approach coincides with Solar Orbiter and Parker Solar Probe being at right angles to each other as they look towards the Sun.
Daniel Müller, ESA Solar Orbiter Project Scientist, explains why this positioning is special. “On this day, we have a unique spacecraft configuration, where Solar Orbiter will have its full suite of instruments pointed towards the region on the Sun where the solar wind is produced that will hit Parker Solar Probe a few hours later.”
More:
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Tomorrow_ESA_and_NASA_team_up_to_study_solar_wind