An orbiting solar spacecraft exploring the Sun encountered a massive burst of plasma coming from the Sun, just before Venus’ axial flyby.
this Massive coronal mass ejection (CME), an explosion of charged particles from upper atmosphere of the sunaura of the sun August 30th direction Venus. A little later, the solar material bubble arrived. solar orbitIt was preparing for its last orbital flight to the second planet Solar System.
Fortunately, the ESA-NASA observatory is designed to measure the type of violent volcanic eruption it has just experienced, so it can easily withstand a solar attack.
The spacecraft carries 10 scientific instruments to observe the surface of the Sun and collect data on coronal mass ejections. solar wind The sun’s magnetic field. Some of these instruments were turned off during the approach of Venus, due to potential dangers from sunlight reflecting off the highly reflective surface. Venusian atmosphereThe European Space Agency said in a Advertising.
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However, the Solar Orbiter was able to gather some valuable measurements of its environment by finding the CME and detecting an increase in energetic solar particles. Violent solar events see particles such as protons, electrons, and even ionized helium atoms emerging from the sun and accelerating to near-relativistic speeds. These particles pose a radioactive hazard to astronauts and can damage a spacecraft. Therefore, understanding their movements and behavior in space will be valuable in protecting life and technology. a land And in space.
The spacecraft was later able to approach Venus at 01:26 GMT on September 4 (21:26 EST on September 3).
“The approach went exactly as planned, thanks to the fantastic planning by our colleagues at Flight Dynamics and the tireless care of the flight control team,” said Jose Luis Bellon, Solar Orbiter’s COO, in the statement.
The main purpose of this approach was to allow the solar module to change its orbit to bring it closer to the Sun. However, the spacecraft was also made in flight Additional Notes for the Mysterious Magnetic Field of Venus.
The Solar Orbiter was launched in 2020, two and a half years after its decade-long mission to image the Sun from the closest distances and study the properties of the star’s magnetic field. The spacecraft uses Venus’ gravity to shift and tilt its orbit outside the plane of the ecliptic, where the planets orbit. These visits to Venus will eventually allow the Solar Orbiter to make the first observations of the sun’s unexplored poles, which are necessary to deliver the star. 11-year activity cycletides in generation sunspotsSparkle and explosions that affect space climate around the earth.
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