Solar Orbiter , a European Space Agency mission with reinforcement from NASA , has been consider the Sun like never before . It just delivered some incredible new watching of the Sun , which let in the highest - resolve view of the full disk in visible twinkle . Get ready to see our wiz in unprecedented detail .
Thespacecraft’sPolarimetric and Helioseismic Imager ( PHI ) is creditworthy for studying the surface of the Sun , also known as the photosphere . It does that by snapping images as well as measuring the magnetized field and the apparent motion of the Earth’s surface . As if this was not enough , the researchers also used the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager ( EUI ) instrument to snap images of the Sun ’s atmosphere , where we see the most spectacular activity of our star .
The images were pick out less than 74 million kilometers ( 46 million miles ) away from the Sun on March 22 , 2023 . The Sun is big so the instruments have to take multiple images that were then stitched together . Each image is made of 25 photographs and the Sun has a diameter of virtually 8,000 pixel in each mosaic , revealing a wealth of insights such as detail of its magnetism .
The ultraviolet view of the Sun showing the activity around the sunspotsImage Credit: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
" The Sun ’s magnetic theater is key to empathise the dynamic nature of our base star from the smallest to the largest scales . These new high - resolution maps from Solar Orbiter ’s PHI instrument show the peach of the Sun ’s Earth’s surface charismatic field of study and stream in great detail . At the same time , they are all-important for inferring the magnetic field in the Sun ’s hot corposant , which our EUI instrument is imaging , ” noted Daniel Müller , Solar Orbiter ’s Project Scientist , in astatement .
The PHI images show the hot bubble blood plasma of the Sun and how it produce solar granule , the convection cells of raging plasm amount from the inside layer . The movement is also see in the tachogram showing the velocity of the surface . In general , the plasm rotates with the Sun ( blue towards the spacecraft and red away from it ) but is press outward around sunspots .
Sunspots are for sure the show stealers of the magnetogram . These part are much cooler than the rest of the photosphere , link to the acute magnetic field lines which then are seen in the complex glow of blood plasma in the solar St. Elmo’s fire once we switch to the EUI view of the Sun .
This was a follow - up from old full views of the Sun by Solar Orbiter . We hope that there will be more views – especially for this class , since the Sun has reach itsmaximum activityand Solar Orbiter is one of the new mission reveal what pass during this time in greater detail than ever before .
Zoomable images from Solar Orbiter can be perusedhere .
