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Press Release N° 20–2019

The ESA Council at Ministerial Level, Space 19+ - www.esa.int/space19plus, will take place at FIBES in Seville, Spain, on 27 and 28 November 2019.

Ten Suns for 10 years

Ten Suns for 10 years Image:

Last week marked a milestone for ESA’s Proba-2 satellite: 10 years of operation in orbit around the Earth. Since its launch on 2 November 2009, Proba-2 (PRoject for OnBoard Autonomy) has probed the intricacies of the Sun and its connection to our planet, imaging and observing our star and investigating how it drives all manner of complex cosmic phenomena: from solar eruptions and flares to closer-to-home space weather effects.

This image shows 10 different views of the Sun captured throughout Proba-2’s lifetime, processed to highlight the extended solar atmosphere – the part of the atmosphere that is visible around the main circular disc of the star.

Characterising this part of the Sun is a key element of Proba-2’s solar science observations. Solar activity is closely tied to the space weather we experience closer to Earth. Understanding more about how the Sun behaves – and how this behaviour changes over time, including whether it may be predictable – is crucial in our efforts to prepare for space weather events capable of damaging both space-based and terrestrial communications systems.

The Sun’s activity has a cycle of about 11 years, with the presence and strength of phenomena such as flares, coronal mass ejections, dark ‘coronal holes’ and bright ‘active regions’ fluctuating accordingly. These images were taken by Proba-2’s extreme-ultraviolet SWAP (Sun watcher using APS detectors and image processing) instrument, and show a snapshot of the Sun in January or February of each year from 2010 to 2019 (with the oldest frame on the top left, and the most recent to the bottom right). This mosaic thus neatly shows the variability in the solar atmosphere in beautiful detail, demonstrating how this cycle affects the Sun. The Sun begins in a phase of low activity (solar minimum: top left) in 2010; enters a phase of increasing activity and then shows highest activity in 2014 (solar maximum: top right). It slowly calms down again to enter a low-activity phase in 2019 (another minimum: bottom right).

As its name suggests, Proba-2 is the second satellite launched under ESA’s ‘Project for Onboard Autonomy’ umbrella: a series of small, low-cost missions that are testing a wide array of advanced technologies in space. These missions are helping us understand and develop everything from solar monitoring to vegetation mapping to autonomous Earth observation. Future members of the Proba family will also be equipped to create artificial eclipses by flying two satellites together in formation to block the bright disc of the Sun for hours at a time, so that scientists can better observe fainter regions that are usually outshone.

For now, Proba-2 will continue to monitor the Sun, including an upcoming celestial event: the satellite’s SWAP camera will observe Mercury today as it transits across the face of the Sun, an event that only takes place around 13 times per century and will not occur again until 2032.

The individual frames of the image shown here were captured on (top row, left to right): 20 February 2010, 1 February 2011, 20 January 2020, 5 February 2013, 28 January 2014, and (bottom row, left to right) 19 January 2015, 5 February 2016, 22 January 2017, 2 February 2018, and 1 February 2019.

Luca to lead most challenging spacewalks since Hubble repairs

Luca spacewalk

The date is set for ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano’s first spacewalk of his Beyond mission. Friday 15 November marks the start of a series of complex spacewalks to service the cosmic-particle-hunting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02).

Call for media: Live event for Luca Parmitano’s first spacewalk of Beyond

Press Release N° 19–2019

Media are invited to join ESA and CERN experts at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany, 15 November 2019, to watch ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano perform the first in a series of complex spacewalks to service the cosmic-particle-hunting Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02).

Holbox Island, Mexico

Holbox Island, Mexico Image:

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Holbox Island, off the Quintana Roo coast of Mexico. The island is separated from mainland Mexico by a shallow lagoon. This false-colour image has been processed in a way that highlights vegetation in bright red.

Holbox Island is around 40 km long and only approximately 1.5 km wide. The island is located within the Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area, established in 1994.

Encompassing more than 150 000 hectares, Yum Balam is home to several endangered species including jaguars, crocodiles and monkeys. The waters of Yum Balam are rich fishing areas and also home to whale sharks, over 400 species of bird, and over 70 different species of reptiles and amphibians.

This summer, a large quantity of the brown seaweed known as Sargassum washed up on the shores of Mexico. The brown algae is an important habitat for many species, yet when it collects along coastlines it rots and produces a pungent smell – causing havoc for both the environment and tourist industry.

In this image, captured on 6 July 2019, the Sargassum floating in the sea can be seen in bright red.

From 24 to 26 October, the first ever Sargassum International Conference took place in Guadeloupe where organisations and companies came together to discuss seaweed monitoring to find solutions to the massive increase being washed up in coastal communities.

Earth observation data are important in monitoring Sargassum, as the data can help local services and organisations monitor blooms at sea, and forecast when they are likely to arrive on shore, allowing local communities to act and plan accordingly.

As part of ESA’s Earth Observation Science for Society initiative, ESA joined forces with CLS-NovaBlue Environment, to monitor floating Sargassum in the Caribbean area using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 missions.

This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.

NGC 3717: A Nearly Sideways Spiral Galaxy

Some spiral galaxies are seen nearly sideways.