Solar Orbiter Mission:
According to a new study the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Solar Orbiter Mission has traced the origin of Solar Energetic Electrons (SEEs) emerging from the Sun.
- Solar Orbiter Mission is a joint project of the European Space Agency and NASA which was launched in 2020.
- It explores the Sun and heliosphere from close up and out of the ecliptic plane.
- It carries six remote-sensing instruments to observe the Sun and the solar corona, and four in-situ instruments to measure the solar wind, energetic particles, and electromagnetic fields.
- Solar Energetic Electrons (SEE) are high-energy particles produced by the Sun.
- These particles play a key role in shaping the cosmic environment.
- They can be emitted during solar flares or coronal mass ejections
- It is observed that one type of SEE is tied to intense solar flares, explosive bursts from smaller patches of the Sun’s surface, while another stems from coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
- Between November 2020 and December 2022, the Solar Orbiter observed more than 300 bursts of SEEs.
- It will deepen understanding of space weather.
