Spain takes centre stage in the first artificial solar eclipse in history
Companies from Spain are busy designing critical elements for the first-ever man-made eclipse of the sun
A solar eclipse is undoubtedly one of the most exciting celestial events for scientists and amateur astronomers, but they only occur naturally about 60 times each century. The next total eclipse is due this March but due to Spain’s position, it will only experience a partial eclipse.
In order to learn more about these fascinating events, the ‘Proba-3’ mission has been developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) which will create a completely artificial total solar eclipse for the first time in history. The goal is to study the middle zone of the corona, the highest region of the Sun’s atmosphere.
More than 40 companies from 16 countries are participating in this mission, with the Spanish contingent being responsible for designing and developing critical components, such as the navigation algorithms and one of the satellites.
The idea is this: a pair of spacecraft will work in parallel, one blocking the other's view of the Sun and allowing them to answer important questions like why the Sun's corona is so much hotter than the Sun's surface. The corona – which was discovered during a total solar eclipse in 1724 – can reach 2 million degrees Fahrenheit, while the surface is 10,000 degrees, according to NASA.
Proba-3 promises something revolutionary: providing researchers with long, controlled eclipses that, like natural eclipses, allow moments of visibility of the solar corona, which is normally obscured by the intensity of the Sun.
To carry out the mission, the two satellites, Coronagraph and Occulter, will fly in formation, "just 144 meters apart, with a precision of one millimetre, in an elliptical orbit around the Earth; specifically 60,000 km from our planet and with a 1.4-meter-wide disk, the perfect size to block sunlight from the other spacecraft and obtain an image of the resulting shadow," a spokesperson explained.
The shadow will be cast for about six hours, enough time to make observations of the structure, dynamics and heating processes of the corona.
Will the eclipse be visible from Earth?
Sadly, stargazers won’t be able to see the artificial eclipse from Earth but the Proba-3 mission still has unquestionable scientific value, as it may finally answer some important scientific questions about our Sun.
To enjoy a natural total solar eclipse from Earth, we will have to wait until August 12, 2026, when it will be visible in most of the northern half of Spain, as well as in other places in the world such as the far west of Iceland or the island of Greenland.
Image: Freepik
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