Three solar prominences erupt in rare artificial-eclipse footage from ESA's Proba-3
TL;DR
ESA's Proba-3 mission captured a five-hour artificial eclipse, producing a time-lapse of three solar prominences erupting from the Sun's corona. By aligning the coronagraph with an occulter, scientists can study the sun’s faint outer atmosphere in unprecedented detail, combining Proba-3 data with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory imagery. The prominences appear to erupt without the bright flares typical of solar explosions and are cooler than the million-degree corona, offering clues to why the corona is so hot and how these plasma eruptions contribute to solar activity.
- A spacecraft 'eclipsed' the sun for 5 hours — and captured a rare spree of eruptions Live Science
- Watch As ESA's Artificial Eclipse Maker Catches 3 Solar Prominences Erupting One After Another IFLScience
- Proba-3: our eyes on the Sun’s inner corona European Space Agency
- Watch three solar prominences erupt in epic video Scientific American
- We’re about to solve the biggest mystery in the Solar System BBC Science Focus Magazine
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