The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
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A prominence seen in the chromosphere during the total solar eclipse of 2 July.
Prominences are made of tangled magnetic field lines that keep dense concentrations of solar plasma suspended above the Sun’s surface. They are anchored to the Sun's visible surface and extend outwards through the chromosphere and out into the corona. The red hue of the chromosphere is only apparent during an eclipse.
The image was taken by the ESA-CESAR team observing the eclipse from ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile, South America.