The closest-ever images of the Sun reveal “solar hedgehog”, south pole

The Solar Orbiter launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) has captured stunning never-before-seen details of the Sun. Images from ESA’s Solar Orbiter captured the Sun’s south pole and a Solar Hedgehog. Here’s more on the details from the closest picture of the Sun.

The south pole of the sun revealed by the solar orbiter

The Solar Orbiter probe launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) was successful in capturing astonishing, never-before-seen details of the Sun. The record-breaking set of photographs was from the orbiter’s close approach to the Sun in March. According to the ESA, the probe went as close as one-third of the distance between Earth and the Sun. The video uploaded by the agency also reveals a geyser of gas nicknamed “solar hedgehog” by the scientists.

“A breathtaking view over the #Sun’s south pole captured 30 March by @esasolarorbiter. #SolarOrbiter will use Venus’s gravity to crank up its orbit inclination for a more top-down view of our star’s poles, unlocking secrets of solar activity,” tweeted the ESA.

In addition to the solar hedgehog, it also captured the Sun’s southern pole. It is the first time any telescope took a glimpse of the region. Scientists believe the south pole is vital and plays a key role in generating the magnetic field. Studying the Sun’s south pole is a key task for this mission. By understanding the happenings in the polar region, solar scientists are hoping to better understand sunspots.

What is the solar hedgehog?

The solar hedgehog covers about 25,000 kilometers, i.e., almost twice the diameter of the Earth. It is much larger than the smaller solar fares, also known as campfires which were first observed by the orbiter in June 2020.

“We are so thrilled with the quality of the data from our first perihelion [the closest point in a body’s orbit to the Sun]. It’s almost hard to believe that this is just the start of the mission. We are going to be very busy indeed,” stated Daniel Müller. Müller is a solar orbiter project scientist from ESA.

According to the agency, the orbiter’s perihelion, the closest approach to the star was on March 26. The heat shields were functioning properly despite reaching almost 500 degrees Celcius. “It functioned as expected and protected the spacecraft during its historic first pass,” they revealed.

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