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.
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ESA’s Proba-2 (left) captured the origin of two coronal mass ejections on 12 February 2021. The first is seen at around 10:30 UT at 45º longitude and spanning 0 to -40º latitude, and the second at around 13:20 UT at 75º longitude, -30º latitude. They are seen as dark filaments that rise and cross the limb of the Sun before leaping out into space, as seen farther away by the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)’s LASCO C2 (middle) and C3 (right) coronagraphs.
Proba-2 and SOHO are viewing the Earth side of the Sun, while Solar Orbiter was viewing the far side of the Sun at the time of the eruption, providing different perspectives on the same event. The eruption is thus towards the left from Solar Orbiter’s perspective and towards the right in Proba-2 and SOHO imagery.