A pair of satellites will create artificial solar eclipses to study the sun

NPR
In this illustration, the two spacecraft of Proba-3 fly in precise formation about about 500 feet apart to form an external coronagraph in space. One spacecraft eclipses the sun to allow the second to study the invisible solar corona.

Astronomers hope the Proba-3 mission will help them get a better view of the corona, the sun's outer atmosphere, which is even hotter than the sun's surface.

(Image credit: ESA-P. Carril @ESA)

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