The ESA Solar Orbiter mission is observing the Sun like no other mission before, revealing the secrets of our star. In an interview with CNA Cypriot Georgios Nicolaou, Lecturer in Space Plasma Physics at Mullard Space Science Laboratory of University College London, who is involved in this unique space mission, talks about the importance of the mission as well as his participation in the project.
The ESA Solar Orbiter mission is observing the Sun like no other mission before, revealing the secrets of our star. In an interview with CNA Cypriot Georgios Nicolaou, Lecturer in Space Plasma Physics at Mullard Space Science Laboratory of University College London, who is involved in this unique space mission, talks about the importance of the mission as well as his participation in the project.
The Solar Orbiter, he said, is a space mission by ESA and with strong participation by NASA, which observes the Sun and studies its complicated mechanisms. He recalled that the spacecraft was launched in February of 2020 and it carries ten scientific instruments that have been developed in several research institutes all over the world.
“I am working at the university and the research laboratory which is responsible for the instrument measuring the Solar electrons. These electron measurements will help in understanding the acceleration and heating mechanisms acting on the Solar material flowing in space,” he told CNA.
The spacecraft, he added, carries cameras which observe the Solar surface in high resolution that was never achieved in previous Solar observations. At the same time, some other instruments onboard the spacecraft measure the magnetic and electric fields in space, while other instruments measure the Solar particles flowing fast in space.
The spacecraft passes very close to the Sun, approaching occasionally one third of the distance between the Sun and the Earth.
“Due to this unique orbit, we can capture extreme details on the Solar surface and witness the complicated mechanisms that create the electromagnetic fields and the particle flows in space, which is what we call “the Solar Wind”,” he explained.
Nicolaou told CNA that the combination of these observations will provide the necessary information we need in order to understand the complicated mechanisms which govern the Sun and interplanetary space.
“This is the first space mission obtaining several remote sensing observations with extreme detail and simultaneous observations of the Solar wind particles and electromagnetic fields. Because of these observations we have an advantage in correlating the Solar activity on the Solar surface with the resulted solar wind in space,” he noted.
“In addition, the combination of Solar Orbiter observations and observations from other spacecrafts, we will be able to monitor and study the revolution of the Solar Wind as it flows away from the Sun expanding in space,” the Cypriot researcher said.
Currently, the scientific groups of the mission are investigating the observations which will allow scientists to answer important scientific questions regarding the Solar activity, the heating of the outer Solar atmosphere and the creation of the Solar Wind.
Nicolaou said that ESA has already published unique images of the Sun captured by Solar Orbiter cameras. He explained that “in these pictures we can see extreme details that we have never seen before.” In addition, a few months ago, a series of published articles show the first observations and discoveries of the mission.
“This research is in constant evolution. Therefore, I believe that we will have major breakthroughs in Solar Physics within the next few years,” he pointed out.
Nicolaou works with the team that leads the operations and the data-analysis of the Solar Wind electron observations.
Asked by CNA about his involvement, he said that “I have developed useful models of the electron instrument which allow the accurate analysis of its observations. In particular, my analysis allows the conversion of the observations to scientific quantities, such as particle speed and temperature, which we need to study the physical mechanisms in space. I have already published articles presenting and explaining this analysis. Moreover, in one of my publications I apply my tools to the first Solar Wind electron observations by Solar Orbiter.”
At the moment, he said, he is coordinating the sophisticated analysis of all the available electron data with researchers from various institutes. The analysis focuses on the production of complete scientific data series which will be available to the entire scientific community.
Nicolaou added that “our task demands a good knowledge of the instrument operations. Although this can be a complicated task, our team can anticipate the difficulties due to our experience in this field. We have already provided data to other teams leading to important discoveries. Some of these discoveries are published in international scientific journals.”
“I am very excited to be one of the first people watching the Sun through Solar Orbiter and to contribute in understanding of the Solar activity mechanisms. For the next years, I am planning to concentrate on scientific analysis, trying to understand various aspects of the Solar activity, always in collaboration with colleagues, researchers and students all over the world,” he concluded.
Source: Cyprus News Agency