![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sun-2.jpg\" "\\"Solar")
<\/a>Solar flare <\/a>seen by EUI and STIX.<\/p>\n\u201cWe see a clear split between \u2018impulsive\u2019 particle events, where these energetic electrons speed off the Sun\u2019s surface in bursts via solar flares, and \u2018gradual\u2019 ones associated with more extended CMEs, which release a broader swell of particles over longer periods of time,\u201d says lead author Alexander Warmuth of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), Germany.<\/p>\n
Tracing electrons back home<\/p>\n
While the existence of two types of SEE was known, Solar Orbiter\u2019s proximity to the Sun allowed researchers to make an unprecedented connection. By flying closer than previous spacecraft and using eight of its ten instruments, the probe observed over 300 events between November 2020 and December 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were only able to identify and understand these two groups by observing hundreds of events at different distances from the Sun with multiple instruments \u2013 something that only Solar Orbiter can do,\u201d Warmuth adds. \u201cBy going so close to our star, we could measure the particles in a \u2018pristine\u2019 early state and thus accurately determine the time and place they started at the Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Co-author Frederic Schuller of AIP highlights the probe\u2019s unique vantage point: \u201cIt\u2019s the first time we\u2019ve clearly seen this connection between energetic electrons in space and their source events taking place at the Sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study also explained a long-standing puzzle: why electrons often appear delayed after solar eruptions. According to ESA Research Fellow Laura Rodr\u00edguez-Garc\u00eda, \u201cIt turns out that this is at least partly related to how the electrons travel through space \u2013 it could be a lag in release, but also a lag in detection.\u201d<\/p>\n
Safeguarding spacecraft and astronauts<\/p>\n
The distinction between SEE types matters for space weather forecasting. CMEs in particular are linked to swells of high-energy particles that can damage satellites, disrupt communications, and endanger astronauts.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowledge such as this from Solar Orbiter will help protect other spacecraft in the future, by letting us better understand the energetic particles from the Sun that threaten our astronauts and satellites,\u201d says Daniel M\u00fcller, ESA Project Scientist for Solar Orbiter.<\/p>\n
ESA\u2019s upcoming missions will build on this progress. The Vigil mission, set for launch in 2031, will monitor the Sun<\/a> from the side to provide advance warnings of potentially hazardous events. Meanwhile, the Smile mission, due next year, will investigate how Earth\u2019s magnetic<\/a> field responds to solar storms.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to Solar Orbiter, we\u2019re getting to know our star better than ever,\u201d M\u00fcller adds. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/sun-3.jpg\" "\\"Solar")
<\/a>Solar Orbiter\u2019s instruments.<\/p>\n