LONDON, ENGLAND – Solar Orbiter, a joint space mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, recently unveiled stunning new images of the Sun’s visible surface. The spacecraft’s powerful instruments captured these high-resolution images in March 2023, showcasing the intricate details of the Sun’s complex magnetic field and surface movements.

The images, obtained from Solar Orbiter’s Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) and Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instruments, offer unprecedented views of the Sun. PHI’s measurements provide insights into the Sun’s surface magnetic field and the direction of movement of different areas. In comparison, the EUI image showcases the Sun’s glowing outer atmosphere, known as the corona.

Solar Orbiter’s proximity to the Sun, less than 74 million kilometers away, allowed for the capture of detailed images that were later stitched together like a mosaic. The images, composed of 25 individual captures from each instrument over a period of four hours, reveal the Sun in remarkable detail, with a diameter of almost 8000 pixels in the full mosaics.

One of the most striking features in the images is the presence of sunspots, dark spots on the Sun’s surface that indicate areas of concentrated magnetic activity. These spots influence the movement of plasma on the Sun’s surface and play a crucial role in understanding the Sun’s dynamic nature.

Solar Orbiter’s mission aims to unravel the mysteries of the Sun by studying its various layers and phenomena. By combining multiple imaging instruments, the spacecraft provides a comprehensive view of the Sun’s behavior, from its visible surface to the outer corona. These new images offer scientists valuable insights into the Sun’s magnetic field and surface dynamics, enhancing our understanding of our home star.

The successful capture and processing of these high-resolution images mark a significant milestone for the Solar Orbiter mission. Moving forward, the spacecraft’s team plans to continue providing detailed mosaics of the Sun’s surface twice a year, further advancing our knowledge of this dynamic celestial body.

For more information on the Solar Orbiter mission, contact ESA Media Relations at media@esa.int.