ESA creates artificial solar eclipse to photograph the Sun's corona

Two European Space Agency (ESA) satellites, operating together as part of the PROBA-3 mission, have managed to capture rare images of the solar corona, the outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere, by simulating an artificial solar eclipse, DPA reports.

The images provide a detailed look at the solar corona, which is normally invisible due to the intense brightness of the solar disk. One of the photos captures the violet glow of this layer, and another illustrates its appearance to the human eye, through a special green filter.

• An artificial eclipse in space

Normally, the corona can only be observed from Earth during a total solar eclipse, when the Moon blocks the sunlight. To reproduce this phenomenon, the PROBA-3 mission was designed with an exceptional degree of precision. In March 2025, one of the satellites was aligned in the direction of the Sun and blocked its rays, casting a shadow just 8 centimeters in diameter on the second satellite, located 150 meters away. The telescope on it, with an aperture of 5 centimeters, was positioned exactly in the center of the shadow, thus managing to capture spectacular details of the solar corona.

• Ambitious scientific goals

The main goal of the PROBA-3 mission is to bring new information about space weather, in particular about solar storms and coronal mass ejections, which can affect satellites, telecommunications networks and even electrical grids on Earth. One of the mysteries that researchers want to elucidate is why the solar corona is hundreds of times hotter than the surface of the Sun, a thermal paradox that has intrigued scientists for decades.

The PROBA-3 mission was launched in December 2024 and is scheduled to last two years. The project involves fourteen ESA member states, marking an important step in exploring the relationship between the Sun and Earth.