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Forbes
08-07-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Total Solar Eclipses May Soon Last 48 Minutes, Scientists Say
A total solar eclipse is seen on Monday, August 21, 2017 above Madras, Oregon. A total solar eclipse ... More swept across a narrow portion of the contiguous United States from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. A partial solar eclipse was visible across the entire North American continent along with parts of South America, Africa, and Europe. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani) NASA/Aubrey Gemignani EXC: Artificial solar eclipses in space could help scientists study the sun's corona, improving space weather predictions with the UK-led MESOM mission. KEYS: MESOM, corona, space weather, solar storm, Mullard Space Lab, Surrey Space Centre, solar flares, coronal mass ejection COPY: A U.K.-led space mission will try to experience around 80 total solar eclipses in space, potentially offering scientists an unprecedented glimpse into the sun's mysterious outer atmosphere. The Moon-Enabled Sun Occultation Mission (MESOM), unveiled today at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting 2025 in Durham, will synchronize its orbit to coincide with solar eclipses in space. If approved by ESA, MESOM would cost no more than $240 million and could be in orbit by 2026-28. MESOM comes in the wake of the first images from Proba-3, a European Space Agency mission to do something very similar — though that will only last for two years. Solar Corona Clearer, longer views of the sun's elusive inner corona — the source of powerful solar flares and storms — are essential if solar physicists are to better understand space weather. Only during a total solar eclipse can the corona be glimpsed from Earth's surface, and even then, only for a few minutes from any one location. Unlike Earth-based total solar eclipses, MESOM aims to align a mini-satellite with the moon's central umbral shadow once every lunar month — 29.6 days. MESOM's unique orbit will repeatedly pass through the apex of the moon's umbral cone, the darkest portion of its shadow, generating near-monthly eclipses. 48-Minute totality These in-space eclipses could last up to 48 minutes, far longer than anything experienced from the ground on Earth. 'MESOM capitalizes on the chaotic dynamics of the Sun-Earth-Moon system to reproduce total solar eclipse conditions in space while using the moon as a natural occulter,' said co-investigator Dr Nicola Baresi, from the Surrey Space Centre. An occulter is something that blocks light from a celestial object. MESOM will have the following instruments on board: Telescope (US Naval Research Lab): imaging the corona. Spectrometer (Aberystwyth & UCL): studying coronal plasma. Spectropolarimeter (Spain): analyzing magnetic fields, sunspots and solar and flares. Getting Closer To The Corona MESOM is a slight upgrade on ESA's current Proba-3 mission. That mission sees two spacecraft align so one can occult the sun and project a shadow onto the other — no moon required. As well as moving into the always-there shadow of the moon, MESOM aims to peer in from just 1.02 solar radii — 35,000 miles (56,000 kilometers) closer than Proba-3. The Proba-3 satellites follow a highly elliptical 19.6-hour orbit ranging from 373 miles (600 km) at perigee to 37,000 miles (60,000 km) at apogee, flying in precision formation only near apogee. At apogee, they're as far away from Earth's gravitational force and atmospheric drag, enabling them to fly in formation autonomously, achieving eclipse-like conditions for six hours. The 'Concorde Eclipse' Although MESOM's 48-minute totality would be impressive, it's less than experienced by Concorde on June 30, 1973, when an experimental Concorde aircraft extended totality from 7 minutes and 4 seconds on the ground to 74 minutes in the air, by flying almost as fast as the moon's shadow. It took off from Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, in the Spanish Canary Islands, and flew at 1,350 mph (2,200 km/h) as the moon's shadow raced across it at 1,500 mph (2,400 km/h). Concorde was able to extend totality from 7 minutes to 4 seconds on the ground. The Longest Total Solar Eclipse From Earth Mathematically, the longest total solar eclipse could last 7 minutes 31 seconds, according to Jean Meeus . The longest total solar eclipse known to have occurred was 7 minutes, 28 seconds on June 15, 743 BC, in the Indian Ocean. However, it's been calculated that the longest so far — 7 minutes, 29 seconds — will occur in the Atlantic Ocean on July 16, 2186. The longest total solar eclipse left this century, with a totality duration of 6 minutes and 23 seconds, will occur on Aug. 2, 2027, close to Luxor, Egypt. Ancient Egypt's capital of Thebes, Luxor, is home to the Valley of the Kings and Queens, Karnak, and several other temples. Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes. The same total solar eclipse with the fields of view of the MESOM instruments superimposed on top of ... More it (i.e. HiBri,LoBri, CHILS and Mag-CHILS). Miloslav Druckmuller, Shadia Habbal, Pavel Starha. Attribution (CC BY 4.0)
The National
17-06-2025
- Science
- The National
Artificial solar eclipse created by European space mission to unlock Sun's mysteries
Scientists can take a longer, clearer look at the Sun's outer atmosphere thanks to a European mission that created the first artificial solar eclipse in space. The feat was made possible by the European Space Agency's Proba-3 mission, which involved two spacecraft flying in perfect formation more than 600km above Earth. The pair lined up to block out the bright disc of the Sun and reveal its faint outer atmosphere, called the corona, creating an artificial eclipse. Striking composite images were released on Monday by the space agency. Dr Dimitra Atri, principal investigator at the New York University Abu Dhabi's Space Exploration Laboratory, said the achievement amounted to a breakthrough in solar science. 'It will help us tackle one of the field's biggest puzzles: why the Sun's corona burns hundreds of times hotter than its surface,' Dr Atri, was not involved in the research, told The National. He said researchers would now be able to study the corona for hours at a time by creating the much longer artificial solar eclipses. 'This gives us an opportunity to study the turbulent processes that fuel space weather,' he said. The surface of the Sun reaches about 5,500°C, while the corona can reach more than a million degrees. Current theories suggest the extreme heat could be caused by the Sun's magnetic fields and waves of charged particles, but this could be challenged with Proba-3's feat. To make the eclipse appear, the two satellites flew in a carefully controlled formation, maintaining a fixed distance of 144 metres while orbiting Earth. One satellite blocked the Sun's light while the other captured images of the exposed corona. This required millimetre-level precision to align perfectly, said the European Space Agency. Studying the Sun's secrets During a natural eclipse, scientists have only a few minutes to view and photograph the corona. This region is where violent solar activity originates, including flares and coronal mass ejections that can damage satellites, disrupt navigation systems and cause power cuts on Earth. 'The mission will dramatically improve our ability to forecast solar storms that threaten satellites and electrical grids, while deepening our knowledge of how stars function across the universe,' said Dr Atri. 'The engineering feat of keeping two spacecraft flying in precise formation also opens new doors for future more complex missions.' Six-hour eclipse Andrei Zhukov, from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, who was part of the research, said he was thrilled to see the images as they secured them in the first attempt. 'Our artificial eclipse images are comparable with those taken during a natural eclipse,' he said in a statement. 'The difference is that we can create our eclipse once every 19.6-hour orbit, while total solar eclipses only occur naturally around once, very rarely twice, a year. 'On top of that, natural total eclipses only last a few minutes, while Proba-3 can hold its artificial eclipse for up to six hours.'
