ESA's Solar Orbiter probe photographs solar South Pole for the first time
As ESA inclined the orbit of the Solar Orbiter relative to the orbital plane, the probe could observe the south pole of the sun for the first time ever.
South pole of the sun, taken by Solar Orbiter in March 2025
(Image: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team, D. Berghmans (ROB))
The European Solar Orbiter probe has taken pictures of one of the sun's poles. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), this is the first time ever that the sun has been photographed from this perspective.
On March 16 and 17, 2025, ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft succeeded in taking images of the Sun's south pole using three instruments: The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) records the sun's surface in the visible spectrum of light and maps the sun's magnetic field. The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) observes the solar corona in the extremely short-wave ultraviolet spectrum. Finally, the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument collects data on the temperature of the charged gas above the sun's surface and thus records the various layers of the sun's atmosphere.
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“Today, for the first time ever, we are showing humanity views of the Sun's pole,” said ESA Science Director Carole Mundell. “The Sun is our closest star, the giver of life and a potential disruptor to modern space and power systems. These new, unique views from our Solar Orbiter mission are the beginning of a new era of solar exploration.”
Inclined orbit
The fact that the images exist is due to the probe's orbit: so far, all probes have orbited the sun in the same plane as the planets. This is why all images were taken at the height of the solar equator and show our central star from the side, so to speak. At the beginning of this year, however, the solar orbiter left the orbital plane of the solar system. The probe's new orbit is now inclined by 17 degrees to the solar system; when the images were taken in March, it was still 2 degrees less.
“We didn't know exactly what to expect from these first observations – the poles of the Sun are literally terra incognita,” said Sami Solanki from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Göttingen.
The initial findings include an unusual structure of the magnetic field: a normal magnetic field has a north and a south pole. However, the PHI measurements show magnetic fields with both polarities at the solar south pole. According to ESA, this only happens during the solar maximum, a short period of the eleven-year solar cycle when the sun's magnetic field reverses and is at its most active.
The solar cycle is currently in this phase. It reached its maximum last fall. After the reversal, the magnetic field restructures itself and takes on a single polarity. In five to six years, the magnetic field will then be in order and the sun will reach its next minimum with the least activity.
Box seat for observing the sun
“Exactly how this build-up takes place is still not fully understood. Solar Orbiter has reached the high latitudes at just the right time to observe the whole process from its unique and advantageous perspective,” said Solanki. The researchers can now observe the predecessors at close range.
The SPICE spectrograph has also provided initial insights into the movements of solar material. But all this is just the beginning, said Daniel Müller from the Solar Orbiter team. “In the coming years, the probe will continue to leave the ecliptic plane to gain ever better insights into the polar regions of the sun. This data will change our understanding of the Sun's magnetic field, the solar wind and solar activity.”
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Solar Orbiter will remain on its orbit until the end of 2026. After that, further orbital changes are planned: After a Venus swingby, it should reach an orbital inclination of 24 degrees in January 2027, then 33 degrees in mid-2029. ESA hopes that this will provide new insights into the sun's magnetic field, the solar cycle and how space weather works.
(wpl)
