Astronomers use the periods of solar Eclipse to study the solar corona, since in normal conditions the study of this region prevents the high brightness of the disk of the star. But the nature of this phenomenon caused by the moon’s shadow usually lasts only a few minutes, which is very small for a full observation of the blazing crown. To this end, the specialists of the European space Agency decided to create an artificial Eclipse.
The ESA mission, called Proba-3 isscheduled for 2019 and involves the joint operation of two satellites at a distance of 150 meters from each other. One of them will be the umbrella for a second, covering him from the light of the solar disk, the intensity of which is a million times the luminosity of the corona. The second machine equipped with a toolASPICS, this time from the shadows to collect data on the coronal region of the Sun in the visible spectrum. Also on the ground the satellite will set the radiometer DARAto measure total solar radiation.
As noted by scholars, this mission will not only allow us to study the corona, but also demonstrate a new scheme for space research, in particular the possibility of replacing a single large spacecraft group is compact, requiring less cost.
