Before the inception of life on our planet, gravity brought dust and gas
together throughout a vast stretch of space, to form the early solar system.
The planets that we know today, came into existence, along with the most
influential part of them all, The Sun. This burning ball of light is the reason
why we have life on our planet. Our biology is designed to cooperate with the sun.
It's no surprise, that people have worshipped and revered our nearest star. Life emerged on
Earth due to its unique relationship with the sun, and that bond continues to influence us.
Even though the sun is at the centre of our solar system, it nevertheless hides many
secrets from science. Uncovering these riddles could provide insight into mysterious activities
observed in other stars, and potentially provide us with priceless information.
It is our curiosity which has led us to send numerous missions to understand the dynamics
of one of the largest stars in the universe. The Solar Orbiter Spacecraft is our attempt
to get to know the Sun a little better. This spacecraft is a satellite jointly
developed by the European Space Agency and NASA, to observe the Sun. It is designed
to procure detailed measurements of the Sun's heliosphere and also observe its polar regions.
It made a historic close pass of the Sun on the 26th of March,
2022 and reached its first perihelion, the point in its orbit closest to the star.
As soon as it reached perihelion, all the 10 instruments started operating in order
to provide us with valuable data which is unlike anything we've ever seen before.
Let's get you updated on some of the instruments, shall we?
Solar Orbiter will collect data from the sun in a variety of ways.
It will be using its Extreme Ultraviolet Imager, for high resolution observations, via which,
we expect to get a clear image of the Sun. The solar wind emitted by the sun,
will be measured in real time as it passes by the spacecraft using its immobile instruments.
Dynamic activity on the surface, such as churning sunspots,
will be detected by full-disk telescopes. The narrow-angle imager, will mark the
observed places for future missions. No other spacecraft has so many advanced
instruments, and that makes the Solar Orbiter one of the most revolutionary satellites out there.
The Solar Orbiter is not the only spacecraft out there.
It is joined by the Parker Solar Probe which holds the record for the closest approach to the sun.
These two are meant to provide us with insurmountable information.
On most days, our generally placid Sun goes about its job, providing a consistent and
predictable quantity of heat and light to keep our planet and its inhabitants alive.
But, just as the Sun is responsible for weather on Earth, Solar activity is responsible
for disturbances in our space environment. We need to keep an eye out on these disturbances
as they may someday affect us. This is only the beginning;
in the next few years, the spacecraft will go even closer to the Sun. It will also gradually
elevate its orientation to see the Sun's polar regions, which have never been observed before.
It's only a matter of time before our knowledge about the sun, expands.
What do you guys think? Drop in your comments to let us know and don't
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