The rhythmic rise and fall of the Sun in the sky makes it easy to forget that our star is unpredictable – a swirling, howling mass of magnetically entangled plasma that controls the entire solar system. But a new video from the European Space Agency (ESA)’s Proba-3 mission, which shows a series of fountain-like eruptions on the Sun, provides a powerful reminder of the active nature of our home star.
The Proba-3 mission, launching in December 2024, consists of two spacecraft. Together, the pair of satellites create an artificial total solar eclipse that gives scientists a glimpse of the corona, the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere. The mission in September 2025 captured particularly extraordinary footage of three separate eruptions in just five hours.
“It is rare to see such prominent eruptions in such a short time frame, so I am very pleased that we managed to capture them so clearly during our observing window,” said Andrei Zhukov, a senior research scientist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium and principal investigator of one of the Proba-3 instruments. ESA statement.
On supporting science journalism
If you enjoyed this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism Subscribing By purchasing a subscription, you are helping ensure a future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Solar prominences occur when the Sun’s plasma, flowing along the magnetic field lines created by the Sun, forms a loop in space at the edge of the Sun’s disk. When a prominence becomes unstable, it may explode outward into space.
A telescopic instrument called a coronagraph has long allowed scientists to capture the dim light of the corona by blocking most of the Sun’s light – an artificial version of the Moon that blocks the solar disk during a total solar eclipse. Proba-3 takes that technology a step further by separating the instruments for such observations into two spacecraft, which must fly in perfect unison to gather useful observations.
The smaller of the two Proba-3 spacecraft, called Occulter, serves to block the Sun’s visible disk. Then the larger spacecraft itself carries the observation system. With a distance of approximately 150 meters between the two spacecraft, the amount of stray light around the edge of the occluder’s disk is reduced, allowing more accurate observations.
That precision allows the trio of leads to shine in the newly released footage. Although the footage is extraordinary, the prominences themselves are not surprising – although the Sun’s activity is decreasing, it is still relatively high, as shown by the stunning polar displays in November and again in recent days.
It’s time to stand up for science
If you enjoyed this article, I would like to ask for your support. scientific American He has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most important moment in that two-century history.
i have been one scientific American I’ve been a member since I was 12, and it’s helped shape the way I see the world. Science Always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does the same for you.
if you agree scientific AmericanYou help ensure that our coverage focuses on meaningful research and discovery; We have the resources to report on decisions that put laboratories across America at risk; And that we support both emerging and working scientists at a time when the value of science is too often recognised.
In return, you get the news you need, Captivating podcasts, great infographics, Don’t miss the newsletter, be sure to watch the video, Challenging games, and the best writing and reporting from the world of science. you can even Gift a membership to someone.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you will support us in that mission.
