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SMILE’s first released footage shows ultraviolet images of auroras circling Earth’s northern polar region—not a conventional color photograph of the planet or the long-awaited X-ray view of its magnetic boundary. Recorded on 24 July 2026, the footage captures activity around the full northern auroral oval, including the dayside, where sunlight makes auroras difficult to observe from the ground in visible light.
What SMILE’s first images show
The European Space Agency (ESA) reported on 30 September 2026 that the ultraviolet imager aboard SMILE recorded the released footage about two weeks after the instrument was switched on. It shows activity around the complete northern auroral ring after a disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field associated with a rush of solar-wind particles. ESA says UVI is the first camera since 2008 to capture the complete northern ring in ultraviolet light, and can record auroras for up to 45 hours at a time (ESA, 30 September 2026).
The oval spans both the dayside and nightside. A published graphic of the view was credited to ESA, CAS and SMILE/UVI, with its background added in Canva Pro; that compositing note applies to the published graphic, not necessarily to the underlying instrument data (Space.com, 2 October 2026).
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These are ultraviolet observations, not ordinary color snapshots. UVI detects the auroral glow in ultraviolet wavelengths, allowing a broad view of the oval as it changes. The dayside is particularly useful to observe this way: in visible light, sunlight overwhelms the comparatively faint aurora for ground-based observers.
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What SMILE is designed to study
SMILE stands for Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer. It is a joint mission of ESA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to study how the solar wind—a stream of charged particles from the Sun—interacts with Earth’s magnetic environment, and how that interaction relates to auroras, geomagnetic storms and space weather (ESA mission page).
The spacecraft launched on 19 May 2026, reached its target science orbit on 20 June, and was declared ready for science operations on 23 September, according to ESA’s 30 September mission update. The mission combines remote imaging with measurements made in space to build a wider picture of the Sun–Earth interaction.
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Four instruments, different jobs
- UVI, the ultraviolet imager: images the auroral oval around Earth.
- SXI, the soft X-ray imager: is intended to image X-rays produced where the solar wind interacts with Earth’s magnetic environment.
- MAG, the magnetometer: measures magnetic fields.
- LIA, the light ion analyser: measures ions in the surrounding space environment.
The instruments are complementary: UVI and SXI provide remote images, while MAG and LIA make measurements from the spacecraft. ESA’s mission factsheet describes the combination as a way to build a global account of the interaction (ESA mission page and factsheet).
The first release does not yet show Earth’s magnetic boundary in X-rays
SMILE’s SXI had been switched on and had taken images, but its first Earth-pointed observations contained too much stray light for a useful view of the magnetosphere, ESA said on 30 September 2026. Teams were adjusting settings and implementing software updates. ESA expected stray light to reach a minimum in mid-October, when the instrument could attempt its first good image of either the magnetopause—the boundary region where the solar wind meets Earth’s magnetic field—or the northern polar cusp (ESA, 30 September 2026).
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So the released auroral footage should not be described as an X-ray image of Earth’s magnetic shield or as the mission’s direct view of the magnetopause. ESA’s early SXI images included in the release show the aftermath of a distant exploded star, rather than Earth’s magnetic boundary (ESA, 30 September 2026).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How ESA and CAS share the mission
ESA provides the payload module, launch vehicle and SXI instrument, contributes to UVI, and supports mission operations. CAS provides the spacecraft platform and three of the four instruments, and is responsible for operating the spacecraft in orbit (ESA mission page). ESA’s mission factsheet lists a nominal mission lifetime of three years, an orbit reaching about 121,000 km above the North Pole at its far end, and a scientific consortium of more than 250 scientists. The factsheet page text does not show a publication date, so those figures are attributed to the factsheet rather than to a more specific date (ESA mission factsheet).
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