Breakthrough solar photos show incredible surface details
What does the Sun look like in the new ultra-clear images (photo: Getty Images)
Solar Orbiter, the joint mission of ESA and NASA, has presented a stunning new image of the Sun and its corona. These collected data could influence our understanding of phenomena such as the solar wind, reports the European Space Agency.
The photo shows particles resembling cotton candy, trapped in the Sun's magnetic field, dark "threads" of cooler material intertwined with each other, and active regions emitting solar flares.
ESA notes that the image is actually a composite of 200 separate photos taken using the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) from a distance of about 77 million kilometers from the Sun. Thanks to this tool, parts of the Sun’s atmosphere—the corona—have become visible, which are usually impossible to observe.
The new high-resolution image of the Sun (photo: ESA and NASA)
Solar Orbiter regularly provides clear images of our closest star, and also gave scientists new information about Venus during its journey to its current position for observing the Sun. More details about the image, as well as interactive labels explaining different areas of the Sun, can be found on the ESA website.
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