A look at the first artificial solar eclipses created by two European satellites

A pair of European satellites from the ESA’s Proba-3 mission have created the first artificial solar eclipses in space by flying in an extremely precise formation. Launched in December 2024, the two small spacecraft—just 1.5 meters in size—fly 150 meters apart, with one blocking the sun while the other observes the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere.

Using GPS, lasers, star trackers, and radio links, the satellites maintain a precision of just one millimeter to align perfectly. So far, they’ve produced 10 successful artificial eclipses, with the longest lasting five hours. The mission aims to create two eclipses per week, totaling nearly 200 eclipses and over 1,000 hours of totality during its two-year run—far more than natural eclipses, which only offer a few minutes of totality every 18 months.

What sets Proba-3 apart from previous missions is that the sun blocker and the telescope are on separate satellites, allowing for better observation of the inner corona. Full scientific observations are expected to begin in July 2025.

Credit : CGTN