January 3, 2023 apparatus Solar Orbiter recorded the passage of Mercury across the disk of the Sun. The smallest planet in our system was in front of the Sun, and the researchers took the opportunity to test all the instruments on board the automatic vehicle.
Polarimetric and helioseismic scanner (PHI) recorded the movement of Mercury against the background of the Sun. Extreme ultraviolet imaging apparatus (EUI) saw it move beyond the disk and through the plasma of the solar atmosphere. In a programme SPICE four specific wavelengths were considered, corresponding to neon, carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, in different places in the atmosphere.
“This is not only a look at Mercury floating in front of the Sun, but also a kind of “parade” against the background of various layers of the atmosphere,” explains Dr. Miho Janvier.
Solar Orbiter it is planned to use it for observations of the polar regions of the Sun in the future.
