Our universe is full of mysteries. When scientists uncover a mystery, a new puzzle appears in front of them. One such puzzle of the universe is the Sun. This is that part of the universe about which very little has been discovered. The reason for this is the temperature of the sun, which turns everything to ashes. Now scientists have found a way to study the Sun and its corona. This is artificial solar eclipse.
Generally, whenever the Moon comes between the Earth and the Sun, we call it a solar eclipse. But now scientists are going to create artificial solar eclipse. You might be wondering how? Is this even possible? Yes, the European Space Agency (ESA) is going to take this risk to study the Sun. The agency has sent two such spacecraft into space, which will come in front of the Sun and block its light from reaching the Earth, thus creating an artificial solar eclipse.
India has also helped
India i.e. ISRO has also helped the European Space Agency (ESA) in conducting artificial solar eclipse. You must be aware of the Proba-3 mission launched by PSLV-C59 rocket from India’s Satish Dhawan Space Center on December 5. This is the same mission under which artificial solar eclipse will be conducted. ESA had sent two spacecraft into space under this mission, whose mission is to study the corona of the Sun.
How will sunlight be blocked
Under the Proba-3 mission, two spacecraft – Coronagraph Spacecraft (CSC) and Occulter Spacecraft (OSC) will be placed in a space orbit 60 thousand km above the Earth. The Occulter spacecraft has a 140 cm diameter disk, which will cast a controlled shadow on the coronagraph spacecraft and block the bright part of the Sun. ESA scientists said that both spacecraft will use Precise Formation Flying (PFF) technology, keeping themselves exactly 150 meters apart from the Sun. During this, accurate calculations up to one millimeter level will be required, due to which an artificial solar eclipse can be created for 6 hours, during which the corona of the sun will be studied.
Why are scientists taking such a big risk?
The surface temperature of the Sun is about 5500 degrees Celsius, while the temperature of its corona reaches 10 lakh to 30 lakh degrees Celsius. This is the reason why this is the part of the Sun which has been studied the least. Scientists want to understand why the corona is so much hotter than the Sun. Under this mission, the solar atmosphere, solar winds and actual temperature of the sun can be detected.
