Part of the mysterious, awe-inspiring allure of solar eclipses is their rarity, with the astronomical event happening incredibly infrequently in any one place and leaving people little opportunity to see them in their lifetimes. It seems the European Space Agency isn't in favor of the scarcity of solar eclipses, though, as it's developing a new technique to create solar eclipses at will.
Far from some Mr. Burns-style blocking out of the Sun, the ESA's solar eclipses won't even reach Earth. Rather, the new technique uses two satellites -- one to block the Sun's rays and one to capture the resulting effects -- to create mid-space solar eclipses for study.
The mission, called Proba-3, will help to more carefully study the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona -- an area that is usually impossible to study due to the brightness of the rest of the sun.
Artificial Solar Eclipses
The European Space Agency Plans to Induce Solar Eclipses to Study Them
Trend Themes
1. Artificial Solar Eclipses - ESA is developing a new technique to create solar eclipses at will.
2. Space Observations - The Proba-3 mission will help to more carefully study the Sun's outer atmosphere.
3. Satellite Technology - The new technique uses two satellites to create mid-space solar eclipses for study.
Industry Implications
1. Space Exploration - ESA's mission for space observation opens up opportunities for further deep space exploration.
2. Scientific Research - ESA's new technique for creating solar eclipses will provide new insights to the scientific community.
3. Astronomy - ESA's solar eclipse research will help study the Sun's corona in better detail and impact knowledge in the astronomy field.