NASA CODEX Telescope on ISS Reveals Hidden Secrets of the Sun’s Corona

A mini photo voltaic telescope aboard the Worldwide House Station caught the first-ever photographs, which reveal the delicate and never-seen adjustments within the outer environment of the Solar. It is named the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX) and has been designed to grasp the photo voltaic corona, the outer layer of the Solar, in depth. This mini telescope features like a coronagraph, which blocks the Solar’s disk to mimic the overall photo voltaic eclipse. CODEX was delivered by means of SpaceX Dragon on November 5, 2024. It was mounted on the ISS utilizing the Canadarm2 robotic arm on November 9, 2025.

Revolutionising Photo voltaic Commentary

In keeping with the report by NASA, the distinctive design of CODEX consists of an occulting disk the scale of a tennis ball held by three arms made up of steel. It permits it to dam the extreme daylight when imaging the faint corona. The primary photographs have been revealed on June 10, 2025, on the time of the American Astronomical Society’s assembly in Alaska. These comprised footage of coronal streamers and pictures of the temperature fluctuations within the outer corona over many days. This presents a recent perspective on solar dynamics.

Measuring Photo voltaic Wind Like By no means Earlier than

CODEX is in contrast to the earlier coronagraphs as it’s the first to measure each the pace and temperature of the photo voltaic wind. There’s a fixed movement of superhot particles from the Solar. With the assistance of 4 narrowband filters, by which two are used for figuring out the temperature and two for pace, astronomers examine brightness to decode these properties, which helps in fixing the thriller of how the solar wind reaches 1.8 million levels Fahrenheit.

Tackling the Photo voltaic Climate Problem

To know the photo voltaic wind, it’s essential to foretell the geomagnetic storms triggered by the coronal holes. Shortly, the storms noticed on June 13, 2025 and June 25, 2025, triggered auroras due to these occasions. After refining the evaluation of photo voltaic wind, CODEX may help in mitigating and forecasting such sort of disturbances.

A Well timed Launch Amid Photo voltaic Peak

NASA’s CODEX began operations at an acceptable second, simply as the present photo voltaic most involves its finish. Because the magnetic subject of the Solar shifts through the photo voltaic battle zone, CODEX is able to catch the essential knowledge that may change our understanding of the climate in house.