The Times

First images of the sun’s south pole captured by Solar Orbiter

Forbes

Spacecraft Sends Back Historic First-Ever Images Of Sun’s South Pole

BBC Sky at Night Magazine

No human has seen this before. Solar Orbiter images and videos show Sun's south pole for first time

PHYS

Solar Orbiter captures unprecedented views of sun's turbulent south pole

IFLScience

Watch: First-Ever Footage Of Sun’s South Pole Gives Spellbinding New View Of Our Star

Scientific American

Solar Orbiter Captures the First-Ever Images of the Sun’s South Pole

GB News

Space breakthrough as pictures of Sun's south pole revealed for first time

Solar Orbiter gets world-first views of the Sun’s poles

USA Today

Spacecraft unveils 1st-ever images of sun's south pole: 'Beginning of a new era'

The Telegraph

South pole of the Sun pictured for the first time

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Adam Frank

Emily Gilbert

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Amaury Triaud

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"There is no planet B [habitable to human beings]."

"I would never say we can never reach the stars and possible habitable planets."

"The discovery of Gliese 12 b is a stepping stone towards finding potentially habitable planets."

The discovery of several smaller and cooler stars is "the best bet for finding habitable planets."

"[W]e're more likely to detect planets in the habitable zone with TESS [NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite]."

Will We Find Another Inhabitable Planet?

<span>Solar Orbiter's observations reveal the sun's magnetic field at the south pole is in complete disarray during the current solar maximum, with both north and south magnetic polarities present simultaneously. This chaotic magnetic state occurs only briefly during each 11-year solar cycle when the sun's magnetic field flips, contrasting sharply with the orderly dipole structure expected during solar minimum.</span

Solar Orbiter's observations reveal the sun's magnetic field at the south pole is in complete disarray during the current solar maximum, with both north and south magnetic polarities present simultaneously. This chaotic magnetic state occurs only briefly during each 11-year solar cycle when the sun's magnetic field flips, contrasting sharply with the orderly dipole structure expected during solar minimum.

<span>The spacecraft's three primary instruments captured complementary views of the sun's south pole on March 16-17, 2025, from an angle of 15 degrees below the solar equator. The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager mapped magnetic fields, the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager revealed the corona, and the SPICE instrument measured particle movement in different atmospheric layers.</span

The spacecraft's three primary instruments captured complementary views of the sun's south pole on March 16-17, 2025, from an angle of 15 degrees below the solar equator. The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager mapped magnetic fields, the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager revealed the corona, and the SPICE instrument measured particle movement in different atmospheric layers.

<span>For the first time, scientists can observe how solar material accelerates from the sun's poles using Doppler measurements, potentially solving mysteries about solar wind formation and the corona's extreme temperatures. The SPICE instrument tracked carbon ions moving at different speeds, revealing small plumes and jets that may explain how particles are ejected into space as solar wind.</span

For the first time, scientists can observe how solar material accelerates from the sun's poles using Doppler measurements, potentially solving mysteries about solar wind formation and the corona's extreme temperatures. The SPICE instrument tracked carbon ions moving at different speeds, revealing small plumes and jets that may explain how particles are ejected into space as solar wind.

<span>Solar Orbiter will continue tilting its orbit in coming years, reaching 24 degrees by December 2026 and 33 degrees by June 2029, providing increasingly better views of both polar regions. The complete dataset from the first pole-to-pole observations is expected by October 2025, with all ten scientific instruments contributing unprecedented data about solar magnetic fields and activity cycles.</span

Solar Orbiter will continue tilting its orbit in coming years, reaching 24 degrees by December 2026 and 33 degrees by June 2029, providing increasingly better views of both polar regions. The complete dataset from the first pole-to-pole observations is expected by October 2025, with all ten scientific instruments contributing unprecedented data about solar magnetic fields and activity cycles.

<span>The mission addresses critical space weather prediction needs, as solar flares and coronal mass ejections can disrupt power grids, satellites, and communications systems on Earth. Understanding polar magnetic field behavior is essential for improving forecasts of the sun's 11-year activity cycle, which currently cannot accurately predict when solar maximum will occur or how intense it will be.</span

The mission addresses critical space weather prediction needs, as solar flares and coronal mass ejections can disrupt power grids, satellites, and communications systems on Earth. Understanding polar magnetic field behavior is essential for improving forecasts of the sun's 11-year activity cycle, which currently cannot accurately predict when solar maximum will occur or how intense it will be.

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First view of the Sun's south pole filmed by spacecraft

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While these first polar images are scientifically valuable, the real impact remains to be seen when the complete dataset arrives in October 2025. The mission's expensive and complex orbital maneuvers represent a significant investment that must prove its worth through concrete improvements in space weather forecasting. Current observations simply confirm what scientists already expected about magnetic field behavior during solar maximum.

<span>While these first polar images are scientifically valuable, the real impact remains to be seen when the complete dataset arrives in October 2025. The mission's expensive and complex orbital maneuvers represent a significant investment that must prove its worth through concrete improvements in space weather forecasting. Current observations simply confirm what scientists already expected about magnetic field behavior during solar maximum.</span>

Solar Orbiter Captures First Images of Sun's South Pole

Solar Orbiter Captures First Images of Sun's South Pole

Solar Orbiter Captures First viewImages of the Sun's southSouth pole filmed by spacecraftPole

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Solar Orbiter Captures First Images of Sun's South Pole

Solar Orbiter Captures First viewImages of the Sun's southSouth pole filmed by spacecraftPole

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