Watch the violent eruption from the Sun which threatened the ESA-NASA solar orbiter

The ESA-NASA solar orbiter’s Venus flyby met with a surprise after the Sun violently threw out a massive coronal mass ejection (CME). According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the orbiter encountered the CME just two days before it made its closest approach to Venus on September 4. A CME is basically an eruption of billions of charged particles from the Sun's atmosphere called the ‘corona’ which travels through space. 

The recent explosion on the Sun is estimated to have occurred on August 30 following which it reached both the orbiter and Venus. ESA even shared a visual of the sun ejecting charged particles in an enormous amount. Meanwhile, the spacecraft is still healthy as it is designed to withstand as well as measure violent solar outbursts. The agency, however, said that the CMEs have a destructive effect on Venus as the charged particles erode the planet's atmosphere by stripping off the gasses. 

Launched in February 2020, the orbiter is currently a quarter of the way through its decade-long mission to observe and study the solar poles. The spacecraft does so in an orbit which is in close resonance with Venus, meaning it returns to the planet’s vicinity every few orbits to use its gravity. It then uses the planet's gravity to tilt its orbit for a better view of the poles. 

ESA-NASA solar orbiter's objective

The orbiter's objective is to solve mysteries such as the Sun’s 11-year cycle of rising and subsiding magnetic activity by getting direct views of the solar poles. Moreover, scientists are also seeking an answer to questions such as what heats up the Sun's corona to millions of degrees Celsius, what drives the generation of the solar wind and how the solar winds gain speeds of hundreds of kilometres per second.

"Solar Orbiter will take images of the Sun from closer than any spacecraft before and for the first time look at its uncharted polar regions", ESA says.