The Solar Orbiter mission led by the European Space Agency (ESA) had its last close approach to the Sun at around 12.42 AM today. But before it did. It took a sequence of images that depict the sun blazing in all its glory, popping and crackling with solar explosions. The sequence released by ESA contains images taken between September 20 and October 10.
☀️⤴️🛰 #SolarOrbiter is making a close approach of the Sun NOW!
This sequence shows the approach using data from 20 Sept-10 Oct 👇
📹https://t.co/GhTJXIT5j9 #WeAreAllSolarOrbiters #ExploreFarther pic.twitter.com/4iuknjKDet
— ESA’s Solar Orbiter (@ESASolarOrbiter) October 12, 2022
The images were taken with the Solar Orbiter’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) while using its full Sun mode to capture the Sun at a wavelength of 17 nanometres. This wavelength of emitted by the gas in the Sun’s atmosphere with temperatures around a million degrees Celsius. The colours in the images are added artificially because the original wavelength of the light is invisible to the human eye.
The image appears to jump slightly towards the end of the sequence since those frames are missing because EUI was not returning data to Earth on those days. The gaps can be seen in the coloured bar at the top, which shows how the sequence is going through the data taken over days.
There has been an increase in solar activity in recent years. In February, SpaceX lost an entire fleet of Starlink satellites due to a solar storm that knocked them out of orbit. According to Space.com, a major solar flare caused radio blackouts in North America as the region was reeling from Hurricane Ian. Since many of our communication systems are satellite-dependent, such solar activity presents a huge risk for humanity.
The Solar Orbiter plays an important role in helping scientists understand the Sun and “space weather” so that the satellites orbiting the Earth can be operated safely and securely without any disruptions to communications.
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