{"id":"f-73cd9b4b27-3815630e-f692-5178-9209-0c4f860d8c37","title":"ESA’s Proba-2 mission captures annular solar eclipse","description":"ESA’s Proba 2 mission captured the recent annular solar eclipse from space. The spacecraft witnessed the same eclipse four times.","timestamp":1772112606,"category":"technology","headline":"ESA’s Proba-2 mission captures annular solar eclipse","modifiedHeadline":"Proba-2 Spots ‘Ring of Fire’ Eclipse","subCategories":["scid_5481d7c6"],"subcategoriesName":["Space Exploration"],"region":"IN","bundleMetaData":{"bundleId":"b162fe12-9cac-4117-a958-cc0604a457de","bundleTitle":"Science Simplified","cardData":null},"iabCategoryId":"472","fcSummary":"on february 17, 2026, a 'ring of fire' solar eclipse occurred, visible from antarctica and partially from south america and southern africa. the proba-2 satellite, launched in 2009, captured four views of the eclipse using its extreme ultraviolet imager. the mission, initially planned for two years, has been extended and continues to study the sun and space weather, having orbited for over 16 years.","summary":"ESA’s Proba-2 satellite captured stunning views of a recent annular solar eclipse, witnessing it four times from orbit. A \"ring of fire\" appeared!","ctaUrl":"https://trends.glance.com/newz/astrology/IN/en/news9/f-73cd9b4b27-3815630e-f692-5178-9209-0c4f860d8c37","sourceUrl":"https://www.news9live.com/science/esas-proba-2-mission-captures-annular-solar-eclipse-2936452","bannerImage":"https://g-mob.glance-cdn.com/public/fc/image/0vyHjZEdZCk0.webp","content":"

New Delhi: On 17 February 2026, the Moon passed between the Sun and the Earth, creating a solar eclipse. The Moon was at a more distant point along its

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elliptical orbit around the Earth at that time, and could not entirely cover the Sun, resulting in a ‘ring of fire’. When the Moon is closer and an eclipse occurs, it results in a total solar eclipse. The Proba-2 satellite orbits the Earth, and witnessed the same solar eclipse four times, including this perfect ring of fire. The images were captured by the SWAP extreme ultraviolet imager on the spacecraft.

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The annular solar eclipse as seen from the Concordia station in Antarctica. (Image Credit: ESA/IPEV/PNRA-A. Traverso).

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On Earth, the eclipse was only visible from Antarctica, although observers in Argentina, Chile and Southern Africa were able to glimpse a partial eclipse. This was the first eclipse in 2026. Proba-2 is in a Sun-synchronous orbit, which means that the Sun is nearly always in the same relative position to the satellite, allowing the spacecraft to observe two small eclipses during the first and fourth passage, an annular eclipse during the second, followed by a nearly total eclipse on the third. The observations have been processed into videos from all four passages.

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The Proba-2 spacecraft

Proba-2 is a small microsatellite that was launched on 2 November 2009 on board a Rockot rocket from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. The mission was primarily a technology demonstration mission for advanced onboard autonomous systems, with a science campaign to study the Sun and space weather phenomena such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, and their influence in the near-Earth environment. There are four science instruments on board. The original planned mission duration was for two years, but the mission has been repeatedly extended due to its successful performance. Proba-2 continues to observe the Sun and has spent over 16 years in orbit.

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ESA’s Proba-2 mission captures annular solar eclipse

SUMMARY