About Solar Orbiter Mission:
- It is a joint project of the European Space Agency and NASA which was launched in 2020.
- Objective: It explores the Sun and heliosphere from close up and out of the ecliptic plane.
- Payload: It carries six remote-sensing instruments to observe the Sun and the solar corona, and four in-situ instruments to measure the solar wind, energetic particles, and electromagnetic fields.
What are Solar Energetic Electrons (SEE)?
- These are high-energy particles produced by the Sun.
- These particles play a key role in shaping the cosmic environment.
- Sources: They can be emitted during solar flares or coronal mass ejections
- Recent findings: It is observed that one type of SEE is tied to intense solar flares, explosive bursts from smaller patches of the Sun’s surface, while another stems from coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
- Between November 2020 and December 2022, the Solar Orbiter observed more than 300 bursts of SEEs.
- Significance: it will deepen understanding of space weather.
