Viewing archive of Monday, 10 February 2020
Select the desired archive item
Solar Orbiter successfully launched into space
An American Atlas V rocket has successfully launched the European Solar Orbiter satellite into space during the early hours of 10 February. This unmanned space probe is Europe's newest solar observatory which will start to study our Sun in just under two years from now. Its main mission is set to begin in November of 2021. At closest approach, Solar Orbiter will only be 42 million kilometers away from the Sun. Scientists hope to learn more about the solar wind, the Sun's polar regions, the Sun's magnetic field, solar activity and how it affects Earth. Solar Orbiter is an ESA mission with strong NASA participation.
Latest news
X1.1 solar flare
Coronal hole faces Earth
Strong G3 geomagnetic storm watch for 23 March
Latest forum messages
More topicsSupport SpaceWeatherLive.com!
A lot of people come to SpaceWeatherLive to follow the Sun's activity or if there is aurora to be seen, but with more traffic comes higher server costs. Consider a donation if you enjoy SpaceWeatherLive so we can keep the website online!
Space weather facts
| Last X-flare | 2025/03/28 | X1.1 |
| Last M-flare | 2025/04/01 | M2.4 |
| Last geomagnetic storm | 2025/03/27 | Kp5 (G1) |
| Spotless days | |
|---|---|
| Last spotless day | 2022/06/08 |
| Monthly mean Sunspot Number | |
|---|---|
| February 2025 | 154.6 +17.6 |
| April 2025 | 147 -7.6 |
| Last 30 days | 128.8 -21.8 |