Otherworldly-looking phenomena on the Sun were captured up close by the Solar Orbiter probe of the European Space Agency (ESA). In the annotated footage, the agency showed what is happening on the surface of the star, and how phenomena such as coronal rain or spicules progress into the atmosphere there. Scientists believe that such an observation may help them solve a long-standing paradox in solar physics: the sun’s atmosphere is hotter than the surface.
Footage close to the surface of the Sun.
| Video: Courtesy of ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
European Space Agency has now released images of the surface Sun, which the Solar Orbiter probe took last fall. The technology captured the transition of the lower layers of the Sun’s atmosphere into the much warmer outer corona. The footage reveals several unique phenomena.
In the commented video, the scientists said that the brightest spots in the images reach a temperature of around a million degrees Celsius. Cooler areas are darker because they absorb radiation. They also drew attention to the so-called coronal moss. It is a brightly glowing gas that creates delicate lace-like patterns on the Sun.
Images of the Sun taken by the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter probe:
Source: Courtesy of ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team
“Usually it can be seen around the base of the large coronal loops, which are too hot or faint and therefore cannot be seen with the selected instrument settings,” explained the ESA astronomers.
On the horizon of the Sun, needles of gas, so-called spicules, extend from the solar chromosphere to the corona. They can reach a height of more than ten thousand kilometers. These long and wide jets of plasma have a maximum lifespan of ten minutes. After that, some of the matter is likely to fall back to the surface, while the rest melts away.
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A small eruption can be seen in the middle of the image. Experts noted that although this phenomenon is small compared to other events, it is still larger than Earth.
On the left, coronal rain is also visible, which is probably less than ten thousand degrees Celsius. That is also why it is shown dark against the background coronal loops reaching up to a million degrees. Rain forms clumps of plasma with a higher density, which fall back to the Sun due to gravity.
Solving the solar mystery
Astronomers were delighted with the result. “It’s really beautiful,” solar physicist and Solar Orbiter project scientist David Long of Dublin City University admired the footage for The Guardian.
Images capturing the unusual and ever-changing scenery may help solve the question of why the Sun’s atmosphere is more than 150 times hotter than the surface, scientists say. Experts originally expected the corona to be cooler, which would be natural given the greater distance from the heat source that is the core.
The probe of the ESA agency also saw the solar snake:
Source: Youtube
“We need to find out how much energy they produce and whether it’s enough to heat the atmosphere to the level we see,” Long said.
So the mission that started in 2020 continues. Next year, the probe is expected to provide the first views of the hitherto unexplored north and south poles of the Sun.
European space exploration
ESA in cooperation with NASA observes other space attractions as well. She found Earth nearby sleeping gianti.e. a black hole that scientists didn’t know about until now.
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Previously, scientists observed quasar shining like five hundred trillion Suns. The astronauts also took a rare photo red elf. The European Agency also showed color images of space from the mission Euclid.
