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This collage shows Solar Orbiter’s view of the Sun’s south pole on 16\u201317 March 2025, from a viewing angle of around 15\u00b0 below the solar equator. This was the mission\u2019s first high-angle observation campaign, a few days before reaching its current maximum viewing angle of 17\u00b0.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until now, spacecraft (and ground-based telescopes) have never been able to clearly see the Sun’s poles, because none ever reached further than 7\u00b0 from the Sun’s equator. (The ESA\/NASA Ulysses mission (1990\u20132009) flew over the Sun’s poles but did not carry any imaging instruments.)\u00a0<\/p>\n
These data were recorded by three of Solar Orbiter\u2019s scientific instruments: the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI), the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI), and the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument. The instruments each observe the Sun in a different way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
PHI captures the visible light sent out by iron particles (617.3 nanometre wavelength, top left), revealing the Sun’s surface (photosphere). PHI also maps the Sun\u2019s surface magnetic field along the spacecraft’s line of sight (top centre). In this map, blue indicates positive magnetic field, pointing towards the spacecraft, and red indicates negative magnetic field.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
EUI images the Sun in ultraviolet light (17.4 nanometre wavelength, top right), revealing the million-degree charged gas in the Sun\u2019s outer atmosphere, the corona. This high-energy light is sent out by charged iron particles.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The SPICE instrument (various wavelengths, bottom row) captures light coming from different layers above the Sun’s surface, from the chromosphere right above the Sun’s surface all the way to the Sun’s corona. Each image captured by SPICE shows different temperatures of charged gas, at 10\u00a0000\u00a0\u00b0C, 32\u00a0000\u00a0\u00b0C, 320\u00a0000\u00a0\u00b0C, 630\u00a0000\u00a0\u00b0C and 1\u00a0000\u00a0000\u00a0\u00b0C.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By comparing and analysing the complementary observations made by these three imaging instruments, we can learn about how material moves in the Sun\u2019s outer layers. This may reveal unexpected patterns, such as polar vortices (swirling gas) similar to those seen around the poles of Venus and Saturn.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
These groundbreaking new observations are also key to understanding the Sun\u2019s magnetic field and why it flips roughly every 11 years, coinciding with a peak in solar activity. Current models and predictions of the 11-year solar cycle fall short of being able to predict exactly when and how powerfully the Sun will reach its most active state.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA. Solar Orbiter’s Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) instrument is led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS), Germany. The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument is led by the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB).\u202fThe Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument is a European-led facility instrument, led by the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS) in Paris, France. <\/i>\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Image description:\u00a0<\/i>This composite image from the ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission showcases the Sun observed across eight different wavelengths, each revealing distinct layers and temperatures of the solar atmosphere. The top row presents the Sun\u2019s photosphere in visible light, a magnetic field map, and the corona in extreme ultraviolet. The bottom row spans ultraviolet observations from 10000\u202f\u00b0C to over 1.2 million\u202f\u00b0C, highlighting emissions from hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, neon, and magnesium. These multi-wavelength views help scientists understand the Sun\u2019s complex structure and dynamic behaviour across its outer layers.]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n