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Two Spacecraft Recreate Artificial Solar Eclipses to Observe the Sun’s Superhot Corona
Twin satellites in ESA’s Proba-3 mission have successfully recreated artificial solar eclipses from space to examine the sun’s million-degree corona. The breakthrough will allow continuous observations of the sun’s outer atmosphere, offering rare insights that natural eclipses on Earth can’t provide. The mission marks a major step in solar ...
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ESA's Proba-3 Unveils First-Ever Artificial Solar Eclipse Images from Precision Satellite Formation
ESA’s Proba-3 mission has captured the first artificial solar eclipse from space using two satellites flying in precise formation. This breakthrough allows frequent, high-resolution imaging of the sun’s corona, bypassing the rarity of natural eclipses. The mission opens new frontiers in solar physics and space weather research with open access ...
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Solar Orbiter Captures First-Ever Close-Up of Sun’s South Pole, Revealing Magnetic Field Chaos
In a historic first, ESA’s Solar Orbiter has imaged the Sun’s elusive south pole, exposing a tangle of magnetic fields and solar winds. The mission marks a major leap in understanding space weather and the 11-year solar cycle that influences Earth’s environment.
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Video: Solar Orbiter Spacecraft Reveals Sun's South Pole For The First Time
The robotic Solar Orbiter spacecraft has obtained the first images ever taken of our sun's two poles as scientists seek a deeper understanding of Earth's host star, including its magnetic field, its 11-year cycle of activity and the solar wind.
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The Promise And Peril Of A Crewed Mars Mission
Mars mission would pursue scientific objectives like determining whether Mars ever hosted life and charting the evolution of its surface, as well as answering broader questions -- such as the history of the Sun through studying Martian soil.
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ISRO's 101st Big Rocket Launch Takes Flight, Loses Satellite Minutes Later
The 101st launch was done with PSLV-C61, carrying an Earth Observation Satellite, named as EOS-09 which will be put in a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO).
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China Uses Gravitational Slingshots to Rescue Two Satellites Stuck in Orbit for 123 Days
After a rocket malfunction left two satellites spiralling in the wrong orbit, Chinese engineers turned to gravitational slingshot manoeuvres for a 123-day rescue mission—successfully restoring them and advancing China's ambitions in space autonomy.
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NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Completes Second Close Flyby of the Sun at Record Speed
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe completed a close flyby of the Sun on March 22, travelling at 692,000 kilometres per hour and approaching within 6.1 million kilometres of the solar surface. The mission, designed to study solar winds and space weather, received a healthy signal back on March 25. The team, including NASA and Johns Hopkins APL experts, ha...
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SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Deploys NASA’s SPHEREx Telescope and PUNCH Probes
NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions have successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. SPHEREx will map the entire celestial sky in 102 infrared colours, while PUNCH will study the transition of the sun’s corona into the solar wind. The two-year missions aim to deepen our understanding of th...
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Aditya-L1’s SUIT Telescope Captures First-Ever Solar Flare Kernel, Revealing Unseen Solar Activity
India’s Aditya-L1 mission has achieved a historic milestone with its Solar Ultra-violet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) capturing the first-ever solar flare kernel in the near-ultraviolet spectrum. This unprecedented observation confirms energy transfer across different layers of the Sun's atmosphere, advancing the understanding of solar flares and spac...
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NASA’s New Missions Will Map the Sun and the Cosmos
NASA is set to launch two major missions, PUNCH and SPHEREx, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base on March 2. PUNCH, a four-satellite system, will study the sun’s corona and space weather, while SPHEREx will create infrared maps of the cosmos to study galaxy evolution and cosmic history. These missions will contribute to a de...
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NASA’s PUNCH Mission Set to Track the Sun’s Corona and Solar Wind in 3D
NASA’s PUNCH mission, set for launch on Feb 27, will deploy four satellites to study the transition between the sun’s corona and the solar wind. The mission aims to improve understanding of space weather by capturing 3D images, helping predict solar storms with greater accuracy. The data will also complement NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, offerin...
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Study Finds Coronal Loop Flickers Could Predict Solar Flares Hours in Advance
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has revealed a potential breakthrough in predicting solar flares. Scientists observed brightness fluctuations in coronal loops—plasma structures in the Sun's atmosphere—that intensify hours before solar flares occur. This discovery, with a prediction accuracy of 60–80%, may provide 2–6 hours of advance warn...
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ESA Uses Solar Orbiter to Turn Solar Flares into Sound, Offering New Insights
The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with NASA, has used data from the Solar Orbiter mission to convert solar flares into audible sound. By mapping solar flare data into blue circles and pairing them with tones, a new way to experience solar activity has been created. This process is linked to the sun’s 11-year solar cycle, with curr...
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Solar Missions in 2025: Heliophysics Projects and Spacecrafts That Will Study the Sun
The study of the sun, its activity, and effects across the solar system will advance in 2025. With Solar Cycle 25 peaking, six NASA missions planned, and new research priorities outlined, scientists are poised to address long-standing questions about solar dynamics and their impacts. Missions such as IMAP, ESCAPADE, and PUNCH will investigate solar...
-
Two Spacecraft Recreate Artificial Solar Eclipses to Observe the Sun’s Superhot Corona
Twin satellites in ESA’s Proba-3 mission have successfully recreated artificial solar eclipses from space to examine the sun’s million-degree corona. The breakthrough will allow continuous observations of the sun’s outer atmosphere, offering rare insights that natural eclipses on Earth can’t provide. The mission marks a major step in solar ...
-
ESA's Proba-3 Unveils First-Ever Artificial Solar Eclipse Images from Precision Satellite Formation
ESA’s Proba-3 mission has captured the first artificial solar eclipse from space using two satellites flying in precise formation. This breakthrough allows frequent, high-resolution imaging of the sun’s corona, bypassing the rarity of natural eclipses. The mission opens new frontiers in solar physics and space weather research with open access ...
-
Solar Orbiter Captures First-Ever Close-Up of Sun’s South Pole, Revealing Magnetic Field Chaos
In a historic first, ESA’s Solar Orbiter has imaged the Sun’s elusive south pole, exposing a tangle of magnetic fields and solar winds. The mission marks a major leap in understanding space weather and the 11-year solar cycle that influences Earth’s environment.
-
Video: Solar Orbiter Spacecraft Reveals Sun's South Pole For The First Time
The robotic Solar Orbiter spacecraft has obtained the first images ever taken of our sun's two poles as scientists seek a deeper understanding of Earth's host star, including its magnetic field, its 11-year cycle of activity and the solar wind.
-
The Promise And Peril Of A Crewed Mars Mission
Mars mission would pursue scientific objectives like determining whether Mars ever hosted life and charting the evolution of its surface, as well as answering broader questions -- such as the history of the Sun through studying Martian soil.
-
ISRO's 101st Big Rocket Launch Takes Flight, Loses Satellite Minutes Later
The 101st launch was done with PSLV-C61, carrying an Earth Observation Satellite, named as EOS-09 which will be put in a Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit (SSPO).
-
China Uses Gravitational Slingshots to Rescue Two Satellites Stuck in Orbit for 123 Days
After a rocket malfunction left two satellites spiralling in the wrong orbit, Chinese engineers turned to gravitational slingshot manoeuvres for a 123-day rescue mission—successfully restoring them and advancing China's ambitions in space autonomy.
-
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe Completes Second Close Flyby of the Sun at Record Speed
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe completed a close flyby of the Sun on March 22, travelling at 692,000 kilometres per hour and approaching within 6.1 million kilometres of the solar surface. The mission, designed to study solar winds and space weather, received a healthy signal back on March 25. The team, including NASA and Johns Hopkins APL experts, ha...
-
SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Deploys NASA’s SPHEREx Telescope and PUNCH Probes
NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions have successfully launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. SPHEREx will map the entire celestial sky in 102 infrared colours, while PUNCH will study the transition of the sun’s corona into the solar wind. The two-year missions aim to deepen our understanding of th...
-
Aditya-L1’s SUIT Telescope Captures First-Ever Solar Flare Kernel, Revealing Unseen Solar Activity
India’s Aditya-L1 mission has achieved a historic milestone with its Solar Ultra-violet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) capturing the first-ever solar flare kernel in the near-ultraviolet spectrum. This unprecedented observation confirms energy transfer across different layers of the Sun's atmosphere, advancing the understanding of solar flares and spac...
-
NASA’s New Missions Will Map the Sun and the Cosmos
NASA is set to launch two major missions, PUNCH and SPHEREx, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base on March 2. PUNCH, a four-satellite system, will study the sun’s corona and space weather, while SPHEREx will create infrared maps of the cosmos to study galaxy evolution and cosmic history. These missions will contribute to a de...
-
NASA’s PUNCH Mission Set to Track the Sun’s Corona and Solar Wind in 3D
NASA’s PUNCH mission, set for launch on Feb 27, will deploy four satellites to study the transition between the sun’s corona and the solar wind. The mission aims to improve understanding of space weather by capturing 3D images, helping predict solar storms with greater accuracy. The data will also complement NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, offerin...
-
Study Finds Coronal Loop Flickers Could Predict Solar Flares Hours in Advance
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has revealed a potential breakthrough in predicting solar flares. Scientists observed brightness fluctuations in coronal loops—plasma structures in the Sun's atmosphere—that intensify hours before solar flares occur. This discovery, with a prediction accuracy of 60–80%, may provide 2–6 hours of advance warn...
-
ESA Uses Solar Orbiter to Turn Solar Flares into Sound, Offering New Insights
The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with NASA, has used data from the Solar Orbiter mission to convert solar flares into audible sound. By mapping solar flare data into blue circles and pairing them with tones, a new way to experience solar activity has been created. This process is linked to the sun’s 11-year solar cycle, with curr...
-
Solar Missions in 2025: Heliophysics Projects and Spacecrafts That Will Study the Sun
The study of the sun, its activity, and effects across the solar system will advance in 2025. With Solar Cycle 25 peaking, six NASA missions planned, and new research priorities outlined, scientists are poised to address long-standing questions about solar dynamics and their impacts. Missions such as IMAP, ESCAPADE, and PUNCH will investigate solar...
