In a groundbreaking achievement, the European Space Agency (ESA) has successfully created the first artificial solar eclipse in space, offering scientists an unprecedented view of the Sun's outer atmosphere, known as the corona [1][2].

The feat was accomplished on June 17, 2025, as part of the ESA's Proba-3 mission, which involved two spacecraft flying in precise formation more than 600km above Earth [1]. The Coronagraph and Occulter satellites, separated by 492 feet (150 meters), aligned perfectly to block out the Sun's bright disc, revealing its faint outer atmosphere [2][3].

Dr. Dimitra Atri, principal investigator at the New York University Abu Dhabi's Space Exploration Laboratory, who was not involved in the research, called the achievement a breakthrough in solar science. "It will help us tackle one of the field's biggest puzzles: why the Sun's corona burns hundreds of times hotter than its surface," Dr. Atri told The National [1].

The Proba-3 mission's primary objective is to observe the Sun's corona, which is crucial for studying solar wind and understanding coronal mass ejections [2]. These phenomena can have significant impacts on Earth, affecting satellite communications and power grids.

The artificial eclipse created by Proba-3 offers several advantages over natural solar eclipses. It allows scientists to study the corona for extended periods, potentially for hours at a time [1]. Moreover, the view from space provides a different perspective compared to observations from Earth [3].

The mission's success required extreme precision, with the two satellites maintaining their positions within 1mm accuracy [3]. This level of precision in satellite formation flying is a significant technological achievement in itself.

As scientists begin to analyze the data from this mission, it is expected to provide new insights into solar physics and potentially help improve our understanding of space weather phenomena that affect life on Earth.