The Sun’s Corona in Exquisite Detail

This video shows the Sun’s corona in exquisite detail, captured by ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft.

It reveals the Sun’s shifting surface, transitioning from its lower atmosphere to the scorching outer corona, tracing the Sun’s magnetic field lines.

The brightest areas reach temperatures of about a million degrees Celsius, while cooler spots appear darker as they absorb sunlight.

Recorded on September 27, 2023, by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) onboard Solar Orbiter, the spacecraft was about a third of Earth’s distance from the Sun, en route to the closest approach of 43 million km on October 7.

On the same day, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe came within 7.26 million km of the Sun’s surface. Parker measures particles and magnetic fields in the Sun’s corona and solar wind.

This synchronized encounter allowed both missions to collaborate, with Solar Orbiter observing the source region of the solar wind that would later pass by Parker Solar Probe.

source ESA