ESA’s Sun-explorer Solar Orbiter
The Solar Orbiter spacecraft has sent back the first video of the sun from just two-thirds of the distance between the Earth and the sun.
Anyone who saw the sun’s corona with their naked eyes for the first time during the recent total solar eclipse across North America may think they now know what the sun truly looks like. However, as Solar Orbiter proves, our star looks much weirder.
Unique Observations
Why the sun’s outer atmosphere- the corona- is hotter than its surface is one of the great mysteries of solar science. Cue Solar Orbiter, launched in 2020, has 10 scientific instruments that allow for making many unique observations. They include the first telescope observations from close to the Sun, the first images of the north and south poles of the Sun and the first complete observation of the solar wind.
This new video shows the transition from the sun’s lower atmosphere to the outer corona. In short, it’s what the sun looks like from up close. It shows:
- Hair-like structure comprising charged gas (plasma) that follows magnetic field lines coming from inside the sun.
- Bright, hot regions (around one million degrees Celsius and darker, cooler material absorbing radiation.
Recorded on September 27 last year, but published this week for the first time, the footage comes from Solar Orbiter’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instrument.
The Sun’s south pole as seen by the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft on 30 March 2022, just four … [+]
Incredible Features
It’s superbly annotated to show some incredible features only visible on the sun from close in. In the lower-left corner is the lace-like coronal “moss,” while on the horizon are spires of gas 10,000 km tall called “spicules.” The latter originated from the sun’s chromosphere, the dark pink ring visible just after totality began and just before it ended, during totality on April 8.
Other features to see in the video include an Earth-sized eruption in the center (22 seconds into the video) and “coronal rain,” chunks of plasma that fall back towards the surface (30 seconds).
Designed and built in the UK by Airbus Defence & Space, Solar Orbiter is a unique mission because it brings telescopes closer to the sun than ever before.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
