The Solar Orbiter, which is jointly managed by both NASA and European Space Agency (ESA), has created history. The spacecraft has taken the closest-ever photo of the Sun. The image showcases the star in its fiery glory and exposes details that were never seen before. The extremely high quality image was taken by the orbiter after it zoomed in on the Sun on March 7, when the spacecraft was crossing directly between the Earth and Sun. The photos are also special because not only were they taken from an extremely close range, but also highlights the caliber of the imaging instruments on the spacecraft which can withstand and process such bright light and still bring out steady images. The photps will also help solve some myetries as well as solar flares or coronal mass ejection (CME).
The ESA announced this feat on March 24, highlighting the “unprecedented” image taken by the Solar Orbiter. It explained that there were two pictures taken. First was captured by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI), which is “the highest resolution image of the Sun’s full disc and outer atmosphere, the corona, ever taken”. The second was captured by the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument and it showcases “the first full Sun image of its kind in 50 years, and by far the best one, taken at the Lyman-beta wavelength of ultraviolet light that is emitted by hydrogen gas”.
Capturing these images was no easy task as the Sun's radiation and heat both make it a challenge to take images with clarity. The NASA and ESA operated Solar Orbiter was around 75 million kilometers away, when it took these images. At that distance, it was roughly halfway between the Sun and our planet. The final image contains more than 83 million
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