How Smile will turn auroras into a map of space weather
Smile reached its science orbit on June 20 after launching on May 19, and its four instruments have now completed the commissioning needed for science operations.[4] The mission will combine soft X-ray and ultraviolet imaging with magnetic-field and charged-particle measurements to study how the solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetosphere.[4][15]
Why it matters
Space weather can affect electronic infrastructure on Earth and in orbit, so observing both the solar wind and Earth’s large-scale response could improve researchers’ understanding of how geomagnetic storms form and evolve.[4]
Key insights
- Smile’s ultraviolet camera is the first since 2008 to capture the full ring of northern lights around the north pole in ultraviolet, with observing stretches lasting 45 hours.[12]
- Its first released ultraviolet footage recorded an auroral substorm on July 24, when compressed magnetic-field lines released energetic particles toward the poles.[12]
- The soft X-ray imager was tested on the supernova remnant N132D before beginning long-running observations of X-rays produced at the edge of Earth’s magnetosphere.[13]
- The light ion analyser uses two sensors to measure the energies of solar-wind particles approaching Earth.[15]