Closest Images of the Sun So Far May Reveal Its Secrets of Solar Poles

In March this year, the European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter took various pictures of the star after reaching its closest approach to the Sun.  

Analysis of the data collection reveals powerful flares, breathtaking views over the solar poles, and a curious hedgehog in video that makes its way back to Earth.

The spacecraft was inside the orbit of Mercury during its closest approach to the Sun. It is the closest planet to the Sun. 

It sits about 1/3 of the distance between the Sun and the Earth. The hitshield had achieved a temperature of over 500°C.

However, it was kept cool with the help of various technical devices. The important thing that this orbiter was successful in finding out is this - how does our star work?

The European Space Agency has said that the closer the spacecraft gets to the Sun, the more closely the remote sensing equipment is able to analyze it.

During close approach, the spacecraft observed solar flares and even Earth-directed coronal mass ejections that provide a taste of real-time space weather forecasting.

This orbiter captured a breathtaking event from the Sun, which scientists refer to as an elephant. 

The event was captured with the help of the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instrument, which takes high-resolution images of the lower layers of the Sun's atmosphere, also known as the corona mass ejection.

No one knows what it is and how it formed in the Sun's atmosphere. Scientists say this event is going to keep them busy for years.  

It extends about 25,000 km from the Sun.  It has an abundance of hot and cold gases that expand in all directions.

This event covers a tiny fraction of twice the diameter of Earth and 1.4 million kilometers of the diameter of the Sun. 

An understanding of the solar poles can shed light on the 11-year-long solar cycles and the activities that dominate these periods Including solar flare, sunspot and CME.

Escape the line of fire

During its close pass to the Sun, the orbiter was in line of fire as it observed solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which were directed toward Earth, causing geomagnetic storms on Earth that caused a radio blackout.

"We're always interested in big events because they generate the biggest reactions and the most interesting physics because you're looking at the extremes," says Robin Colanino, US Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC and SoloHI PI.

The spacecraft was hit by a coronal mass ejection on March 10, giving it a unique opportunity to monitor the conditions of the solar wind and the team was able to predict when it would later hit Earth.  

This experience gave Solar Orbiter a taste of forecasting space weather conditions on Earth in real time.

What will happen next?

Solar Orbiter is now preparing for its next dive, moving closer to its destination than ever before. The spacecraft is racing into space to line itself up for its next and slightly closer perihelion pass on October 13.

During the pass, the probe will be 0.29 times the Earth-Sun distance. "We're very thrilled with the quality of the data from our first perihelion". It's almost hard to believe that this is only the beginning of the mission.  

We are going to be very busy indeed,” Daniel Muller, ESA Project Scientist for Solar Orbiter, said in a statement.