“微笑”卫星如何连续40小时“追踪”太阳风暴

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中国科学院国际合作局出品

Produced by Bureau of International Cooperation, Chinese Academy of Sciences

在太空中，太阳风暴并不是突然发生的事件，而是一个持续变化的过程。“微笑”卫星的任务，就是把这个过程完整记录下来。

In space, solar storms are not sudden events but continuously evolving processes. SMILE's mission is to capture this evolution as a whole.

️不是“路过看看”，而是“现场蹲点”

Not Just Passing by, But Staying on Site

SMILE运行在一条大倾角、大椭圆轨道（HEO）上，轨道近地点约5,000公里，远地点约121,000公里，周期约51小时。

SMILE operates in a highly inclined, highly elliptical orbit (HEO), with a perigee of about 5,000 km, an apogee of about 121,000 km, and an orbital period of about 51 hours.

这条轨道的关键不在于“绕地球飞一圈”，而在于“在关键区域停留更久”。当卫星飞到远地点附近时速度会变慢，就能长时间停留在地球向阳侧磁层区域——这里正是太阳风与磁层相互作用最强烈的地方。

The goal is not simply to circle Earth, but to stay longer in key regions. At its farthest point from Earth, above the northern polar region, the spacecraft slows down and can stay longer over the dayside magnetosphere—where solar wind interactions are strongest.

四种“感知工具”一起工作

Four Instruments Working as One System

SMILE搭载四个关键载荷，使卫星同时具备“看整体”和“测细节”的能力

SMILE carries four key instruments that work together, enabling it to both image the big picture and measure fine details.

软X射线成像仪：观察磁层边界和整体结构变化

Soft X-ray Imager: observes magnetospheric boundaries and large-scale structures

紫外成像仪：记录极光的分布与变化

Ultraviolet Imager: tracks the distribution and evolution of auroras

低能离子分析仪：测量太阳风和等离子体粒子

Low-energy Ion Analyzer: measures solar wind and plasma particles

磁强计：捕捉磁场的细微变化

Magnetometer: detects subtle variations in the magnetic field

一边看整体，一边测细节

Seeing the Whole System while Measuring Local Details

成像观测从远处呈现磁层和极光的整体变化，提供“全景”；就地测量在轨道上直接记录太阳风、粒子和磁场的局部变化，提供“细节”。两种观测方式结合，使我们既能看清系统中正在发生什么，也能定位这些变化发生在何处。

Remote imaging provides a global view of the magnetosphere and auroras, while in-situ measurements capture local variations in solar wind, particles, and magnetic fields. Together, they reveal what is happening across the system—and where it happens.

把碎片变成完整过程

From Fragments to a Complete Picture

SMILE在一次轨道中可连续观测约40小时，完整记录太阳风压缩磁层、极光增强以及磁场扰动与恢复的全过程，使空间天气从可观测现象转变为可持续追踪与整体理解的动态系统。

During a single orbit, SMILE can observe continuously for up to 40 hours, capturing the full evolution of magnetospheric compression, auroral intensification, and magnetic disturbances and recovery. As a result, space weather is transformed from observable phenomena into a dynamic system that can be continuously tracked and understood.

当SMILE在轨道上持续“凝望”地球时，人类将第一次从整体视角理解太阳与地球之间的真实互动。

As SMILE continues to "watch" Earth from orbit, humanity will, for the first time, understand the true interaction between the Sun and Earth from a system-wide perspective.

来源：CAS双语科学

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