A spaceships developed by European scientists and companies have gained unprecedented views of the South Pole of the Sonne.
Solar Orbiter was built by Airbus in Great Britain and was developed as part of a joint mission between the European space agency (ESA) and NASA. The probe was launched in 2020 on an United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 Rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
A number of European technology companies also contributed to the mission. One of them is Dublin-Based, EnBio, which developed a protective coating for the probe using crushed animal bones. It is one of the more unusual materials that have ever flown to space – and it plays an important role in shielding sun orbiters before the intensive heat and radiation of the sun. The spaceship will fly closer to the sun than any other probe in history, which is crucial for a better view of our next star.
In front of the sun orbiter, all the pictures of the sun had been taken from the ecliptic level, the flat path circle along the earth and its space satellites. This made it impossible to view the poles directly.
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Solar Orbiter has won a new perspective by tipping its orbit from the ecliptical level into the invisible angle of our next star. To achieve this, the probe repeated Flybys from Venus and Earth carried out and used their gravity to gain the dynamics that is necessary to enter a completely new orbit around the sun.
In March the Solar Orbiter reached a view of 17 ° below the solar equator. The probe recorded several pictures from this viewpoint using a series of scientific instruments that observe the sun in visible, ultraviolets and extreme ultraviolet light. The combined data offer a multi -layered view of one of the least unexplored limits in our next star.
The various instruments of Solar Orbiter offer several views in the fiery atmosphere of the sun. Credit: ESA
The unprecedented views could improve the understanding of the scientists for the magnetic field and the sun cycle of the sun. You can also give the new light on the origins of Solar storms – the energetic outbreaks that can disturb satellites, power gates and communication on earth.
Professor Carole Mundell, science manager of ESA, said the mission was a “new era” for solar science.
“The sun is our next star, the encoder of life and the potential disorder of the modern spatial and soil force system. It is therefore essential that we understand how it works and learn to predict their behavior,” she said.
A magnetic confusion
The latest data from Solar Orbiter show the magnetic south pole of the sun in a state of chaos, with a mixture of north and south magnetic fields instead of a single dominant, like on earth. This is characteristic of the 11-year activity cycle of the sun when its magnetic field freaked out.
The spaceship has also grasped the movement of sun particles above the South Pole and reveals the swirling rivers of hot plasma Polar vertebrae In the solar atmosphere. These complex dynamics, which are not seen from the earth or traditional orbits, could provide new indications of how the sun's magnetic field works and drives the sun wind.
Enbio is not the only technology company that has the latest achievements by Solar Orbiter. The active space technologies developed in Portugal in Portugal, with which UV light can penetrate into the instruments of the spacecraft without exposing them more intensively. Another Portuguese company, Critical Software, provided the diagnostics and onboard software of the probe, while Irish Startup Captec Software check and validation provided the probe onboard flight software.
All of this technology has opened the door to unprecedented views of the sun – and the best could still come. In the coming years, the solar orbiter will continue to get out of the ecliptic and finally reach 33 ° above the solar equator, which gives a new perspective on the fiery nature of the sun.
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