The Solar Orbiter spacecraft, which is only 32 percent of the distance from Earth, captured a video of the Sun like never before.

On March 26, 2022, this ESA and NASA mission completed the first of its near-perihelion crossings. The spacecraft came closer to the Sun than Mercury, the inner planet. Because they got so close to the Sun, the photographs and data they returned were breathtaking. The heat shield on the ship hit 500 degrees Celsius. However, it used its unique technology to dissipate the heat and maintain the spaceship safe and operational.

The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager captured these photographs of the Sun at a wavelength of 17 nanometers on March 27, 2022.

This is the wavelength emitted by gas at a temperature of around a million degrees, which is about the same as the temperature of the Sun’s corona. The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) uses the Full Sun Imager (FSI) telescope to acquire photographs of the entire disk, while the High Resolution Imager (HRIEUV) telescope produces precise images of a smaller region.

The clip begins with a view of the entire Sun, with magnetism erupting from the Sun’s center, trapping brilliant loops of coronal plasma. The video then zooms in on the HRIEUV telescope’s target zone, where smaller-scale coronal loops may be seen, according to ESA.

Because the original wavelength detected by the device is undetectable to the human eye, the color in this image has been artificially added.

Polar Orbiter has returned extraordinary photographs and data since its first close visit to the Sun, including powerful flares, stunning views of the solar poles, and a peculiar solar “hedgehog.”

Although the investigation of the new dataset has only just begun, it is obvious that the ESA-led project is offering unprecedented insights into the Sun’s magnetic behavior and how it influences space weather.

Image Credit: Getty

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