On February 9, 2020, the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Florida on top of an Atlas V 411 spacecraft. The spacecraft’s mission is to fly inside the orbit of Mercury, on a tilted orbit that takes it above and below the Sun, capturing images of the Sun’s poles for the first time.
This is just a year and a half after the launch of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which will fly even closer. Together, the two spacecraft will measure the Sun from every angle up close, providing detailed images and insights of our closest star, to help understand how it creates and controls the giant bubble of plasma that surrounds the entire Solar System.
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References:
https://sci.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter/-/liftoff-for-solar-orbiter-esa-s-mission-to-face-the-sun-up-close
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter
http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2019/10/Solar_Orbiter_s_journey_around_the_Sun
http://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Ulysses_overview
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/ulysses/in-depth/
https://www.nasa.gov/content/solar-orbiter-overview
https://sci.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter/-/51169-what-drives-the-solar-wind-and-where-does-the-coronal-magnetic-field-originate-from
https://sci.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter/-/51170-how-do-solar-transients-drive-heliospheric-variability
https://sci.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter/-/51171-how-do-solar-eruptions-produce-energetic-particle-radiation-that-fills-the-heliosphere
https://sci.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter/-/51172-how-does-the-solar-dynamo-work-and-drive-connections-between-the-sun-and-the-heliosphere
https://sci.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter/-/51217-instruments
http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/The-Mission/index.php
https://www.eso.org/public/outreach/eduoff/vt-2004/mt-2003/mt-mercury-orbit.html
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Paint_it_black_Stone_Age_sunscreen_for_Solar_Orbiter
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/Solar_Orbiter_s_shield_takes_Sun_s_heat
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Nice work Ian and congratulations. A Las Vegas wedding? I hope you got married by Elvis. 😉 Keep up the good work.
Congratulations Ian!!
😀 Best of luck and wishing you many happy years….
Excellent news! All the best to you both 🙂
Congrats and best wishes!!
Ian,
Congratulations! Best wishes to both of you always!
Congrats from down-under.
I don’t know Ian but figured he should have best wishes from the other side of the Earth.
W00t !! Congrats Ian !!! Best wishes !
Congrats Ian. I hope your astronomy time doesn’t decrease to much with a new found companion
Thank you all for your kind words! And thank you Fraser for the post!! I am over the moon of course and very excited for my future with Deb. I’ll be sure to get back to my article writing soon, just recovering from the weekend still!
Catch you all soon!
Best, Ian