﻿ Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2020 February 11 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Launch of the Solar Orbiter Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Derek Demeter ([5]Emil Buehler Planetarium) Explanation: How does weather on the Sun affect humanity? To help find out, the [6]European Space Agency (ESA) and [7]NASA have just launched the [8]Solar Orbiter. This Sun-circling robotic spaceship will monitor the Sun's changing light, [9]solar wind, and [10]magnetic field not only from the usual perspective of Earth but also from above and below the Sun. [11]Pictured, a long duration exposure of the [12]launch of the [13]Solar Orbiter shows the graceful arc of the bright engines of [14]United Launch Alliance's [15]Atlas V rocket as they [16]lifted the satellite off the [17]Earth. Over the next few years, the [18]Solar Orbiter will use the [19]gravity of Earth and Venus to [20]veer out of the [21]plane of the planets and closer to the [22]Sun than Mercury. [23]Violent weather on the Sun, including [24]solar flares and [25]coronal mass ejections, has shown the ability to [26]interfere with power grids on the Earth and [27]communications satellites in Earth orbit. The Solar Orbiter is expected to coordinate observations with the also Sun-orbiting [28]Parker Solar [29]Probe [30]launched in 2018. Solar Orbiter to Space: [31]Watch the Launch Tomorrow's picture: sky divide __________________________________________________________________ [32]< | [33]Archive | [34]Submissions | [35]Index | [36]Search | [37]Calendar | [38]RSS | [39]Education | [40]About APOD | [41]Discuss | [42]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [43]Robert Nemiroff ([44]MTU) & [45]Jerry Bonnell ([46]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [47]Specific rights apply. [48]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [49]ASD at [50]NASA / [51]GSFC & [52]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2002/SolarOrbiterLaunch_Demeter_5000.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://500px.com/demeterderek 5. https://www.seminolestate.edu/planet/ 6. https://www.esa.int/ 7. https://www.nasa.gov/ 8. https://www.nasa.gov/solar-orbiter 9. https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/SolarWind.shtml 10. https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/the_key.shtml 11. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Y60FKBxjK/ 12. https://youtu.be/-X-p5C4SLVo?t=1709 13. https://sci.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter 14. https://www.ulalaunch.com/ 15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_V 16. https://sci.esa.int/web/solar-orbiter/-/liftoff-for-solar-orbiter-esa-s-mission-to-face-the-sun-up-close 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170709.html 18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Orbiter 19. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravity_assist 20. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/details.cgi?aid=4793 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap170225.html 22. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/overview/ 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190526.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180902.html 25. https://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/the-difference-between-flares-and-cmes 26. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/sun_darkness.html 27. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/news/stereo_1859.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200121.html 29. http://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/ 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180815.html 31. https://youtu.be/-X-p5C4SLVo?t=1709 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200210.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 41. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=200211 42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200212.html 43. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 44. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 45. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 46. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 47. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 48. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 49. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 50. https://www.nasa.gov/ 51. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 52. http://www.mtu.edu/