The ESA Sun Explorer #SolarOrbiter with OHB Italia S.p.A. on board thanks to #METIS (Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy- one of the ten cutting-edge technological instruments), is cruising into deep space and it is at the moment:
- > 58Mio Km from the #Sun
- > 112Mio Km from #Mercury
- > 121Mio Km from #Venus
- > 117Mio Km far from the #Earth
Great journey until now!
The METIS instrument has been successfully verified and tested and it has already taken incredible images of the #corona, both in the visible and ultraviolet wavelengths: these observations, with unprecedented temporal coverage and spatial resolution, are revealing the process of the #structure and the #dynamic of the full corona.
WHAT ABOUT THE SOLAR CORONA PARADOX?
Recently another step forward was made. The objective was to solve the “full corona paradox”: a counter-intuitive phenomenon for which the #solaratmosphere reaches temperatures up to around 2 million °C, much higher than the 5.500 °C found on the Sun’s #surface. As if the air around a fire was hotter than the flames that keep it alive!
The new finding is that small, temporary magnetic field spots on the solar surface associated with the gas arcs are “feeding” the solar corona, as shown from the instruments Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (Eui) and Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (Phi).
The European Space Agency – ESA mission, in collaboration with NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration and with the fundamental contribution of Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, suggests therefore the connection between the temporal evolution of these small #magneticspots and the #coronalloops could play a key role in raising the temperature of the solar corona.
Solar Orbiter is allowing us to understand ever deeper the inner secrets of our Giving-life Star… Stay tuned for the next amazing update!
Read more on:
https://lnkd.in/dthGacQj
www.ohb-italia.it #ohbitalia #solarorbiter #metis #sun #space #satellite
Photo: Below two observations made on 12 October by the Eui and Phi instruments on board of Solar Orbiter. Credits: Esa & Nasa/Solar Orbiter, EUI team and PHI team
