Solar storm alert: ESA captures stunning solar flare footage
The European Space Agency (ESA) has released footage revealing what a solar flare looks like. The material, recorded as part of the Solar Orbiter mission in September 2022, shows the solar flare itself and the release of accompanying radio waves.
ESA emphasizes the fascinating phenomenon of the intense solar flare captured in the latter half of last year. The recording demonstrates an explosion that releases huge amounts of energy, with the plasma being heated to millions of degrees Fahrenheit within minutes, according to an Instagram post by ESA. The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager camera captured this material as part of the Solar Orbiter mission.
The great solar flare is intriguing not only because of its temperature. In addition to releasing energy, electrons are ejected into space, and radio waves are emitted when they interact with other particles. The entire event has been recorded by the probe and stored. Volunteers can join the program to "listen" to these explosions themselves. ESA notes that the longest recordings of this kind might last several hours.
ESA invites participation in the Zooniverse project, where anyone interested can help analyze such data, without needing an advanced degree. This is a valuable source of knowledge for scientists, often aiding in discovering new facts. Zooniverse focuses on analyzing data that cannot be effectively or easily examined by any means other than manual human inspection. This method is often the only way to acquire such valuable data.
Solar Orbiter mission
The Solar Orbiter is a joint mission by the European Space Agency and NASA to study the Sun in detail. The probe was launched into space on February 9, 2020. Its mission is to observe the Sun from unprecedentedly close distances, enabling the acquisition of extremely detailed data, such as the recording of a powerful explosion accompanied by energy release.
Scientists can better understand how the Sun affects space weather and Earth thanks to the Solar Orbiter. The probe is equipped with advanced instruments that allow for detailed studies of the heliosphere and solar cycles. For the first time, this mission enables scientists to image the solar poles, which is crucial for comprehending the dynamics of our star.
