Solar Orbiter blasts off to capture 1st look at sun's poles - link added

[Ptah]

Last edited Mon Feb 10, 2020, 01:03 AM - Edit history (1)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Europe and NASA’s Solar Orbiter rocketed into space Sunday night on an unprecedented mission to capture the first pictures of the sun’s elusive poles.

The $1.5 billion spacecraft will join NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, launched 1 1/2 years ago, in coming perilously close to the sun in order to unveil its secrets.

While Solar Orbiter won’t venture close enough to penetrate the sun’s corona, or crown-like outer atmosphere, like Parker, it will maneuver into a unique out-of-plane orbit that will take it over both poles, never photographed before. Together with powerful ground observatories, the sun-staring space duo will be like an orchestra, according to Gunther Hasinger, the European Space Agency’s science director.

“Every instrument plays a different tune, but together they play the symphony of the sun,” Hasinger said.

Edit to add link: https://apnews.com/f936dc20bc89460069c3da166cfb7afe

[Wounded Bear]

1. Thanks, but you left out the link...

[Ptah]

2. Oops!

https://apnews.com/f936dc20bc89460069c3da166cfb7afe

[Wounded Bear]

3. Thanks. I like to cross post these to another site I frequent...

[littlemissmartypants]

4. This is a BFD. To coin a phrase.

Thanks for sharing it, Ptah. ❤

[nitpicker]

5. Link to BBC

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51420402