A team of researchers at University College London (UCL) used data sent back by the orbiter to create the highest resolution image of the sun's lower atmosphere to date, and the final image contains more than 83 million pixels in total, which is ten times better than what a 4K TV screen can show.
The solar probe takes images of the sun's lower atmosphere at 46 million miles from the sun's surface.
The sun's low atmosphere is reportedly an unstable region of the Sun, and its eruptions can lead to dangerous weather in the space around Earth. As a joint project of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), the solar probe took these images at a distance of 46 million miles from the sun's surface.
This is the most detailed image of the Sun's explosive low atmosphere ever recorded, showing its volatile dynamic eruptions.
The image, which was synthesized from 25 independent photographs taken by the probe's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) on March 7, is the most detailed image ever of the sun's explosive low atmosphere, showing its volatile dynamic eruptions.
In total, the final image contains more than 83 million pixels, and its resolution is ten times better than what a 4K TV screen can display.
The image helps astronomers learn more about the Sun's lower atmosphere, showing the dynamic activity of the Sun's atmosphere in "unprecedented detail."
Making such a detailed observation of the sun will allow scientists to find the origins of powerful eruptions and other events on the sun's surface and atmosphere.
EuI instrument co-principal investigator Dr David Long from UCL said the lower atmosphere lies somewhere between the outer atmosphere (corona) and the inner region (the photosphere), which is where colder plasmas held in place by magnetic fields can become unstable and erupt. By studying this area, we can figure out what drives these eruptions and help us better predict space weather.
At the same time, the sun's lower atmosphere is where really interesting physics takes place, and it's an area we can only see from space.
EUI takes images of the Sun at a wavelength of 17 nanometers, located in the extreme ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum. This shows the entire upper atmosphere of the Sun, the corona, which has a temperature of about 1 million degrees Celsius (1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit).
The solar probe, now in orbit on the inner planet Mercury, is taking images of the sun at the highest resolution it can capture.
At 2 o'clock and 8 o'clock at the edge of the sun, black wires away from the surface can be seen. These "protrusions" can easily erupt, throwing large amounts of corona gas into space, forming "space weather" storms.
The solar probe, now in orbit on the inner planet Mercury, is taking the highest resolution image of the sun it can take.
Carolyn Harper, head of space science at the UK Space Agency, said it was an exciting milestone for the Solar Orbiter, which is now closer to the Sun than Mercury and captures "suffocating" clear images and data about the Sun's atmosphere.
Making such a detailed observation of the sun will allow scientists to find the origins of powerful eruptions and other events on the sun's surface and atmosphere to better understand how they contribute to space weather, she said.
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin