ESA Unveils First Image Ever Captured of the Sun's South Pole

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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The European Space Agency (ESA) has released the first image of the Sun's south pole, which has never been seen by humans or spacecraft before. The Solar Orbiter spacecraft took the image near the Sun on March 23, 2025, and was announced on June 11.

"Today we reveal humankind's first-ever views of the Sun's pole," said Carole Mundell, Director of Science at ESA, in a written statement on June 11. "These new unique views from our Solar Orbiter mission are the beginning of a new era of solar science."

As cited in a report by Live Science, the image was taken from a perspective never before reached by any other spacecraft. Unlike the Earth and other planets that orbit along the Sun's equator, the Solar Orbiter tilted its orbit up to 17 degrees from the equator to capture the area of the south pole for the first time.

Data from the three instruments on the Solar Orbiter show full-color images of the Sun's magnetic field patterns preparing for polarity reversal, as well as rapid flows of various chemical elements forming the solar wind, a stream of charged particles that affect space weather in the solar system.

Currently, the Sun is in the peak of activity, or the solar maximum, with intense flares. An interesting finding comes from the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) instrument. The PHI map reveals an unusual magnetic field pattern at the South Pole, with both north- and south-charged fields present at the same time. This phenomenon suggests that the Sun's magnetic field is approaching a reversal point.

According to ESA, this change marks the end of the solar maximum and the beginning of the transition towards the solar minimum, which is estimated to occur in the next five to six years. At that time, the Sun's poles will only have one polarity.

For the next few years, the Solar Orbiter will continue to observe the Sun's poles from an increasingly higher perspective. With the help of Venus' gravity, the spacecraft can tilt its orbit by up to 24 degrees in December 2026 and 33 degrees in June 2029, enabling more detailed observations.

"This is just the first step of Solar Orbiter's 'stairway to heaven,'" said Daniel Moller, project scientist of the Solar Orbiter at ESA. "These data will transform our understanding of the Sun's magnetic field, the solar wind, and solar activity."

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