During the solar eclipse on August 12, 2026, an Irish Air Force C295 flew west over the Atlantic Ocean to capture the totality.
The Eclipse Coronal Magnetograph, or E-CorMag, was designed using components produced for the Proba-3 ASPIICS instrument, to measure the magnetic field of the solar corona.
High above the clouds over the Atlantic Ocean, 540 kilometers west of Ireland, E-CorMag targeted the total eclipse, collecting data from the coronal magnetic field through its polarization, the direction in which light waves vibrate.
By comparing these data with measurements from ESA’s Proba-3 and Solar Orbiter missions, we can build a more complete view of the solar corona and its relationship with the Sun’s magnetic field.
[Image description: A total solar eclipse seen from a plane. The plane’s wing covers the top right of the image. The horizon is visible towards the bottom of the image. Towards the top of the image is the Sun, with the Moon just about seen as a black dot right in the middle.]
