Spacecraft unveils 1st-ever images of sun's south pole: 'Beginning of a new era'
Spacecraft unveils 1st-ever images of sun's south pole: 'Beginning of a new era' European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter, which launched from Florida in 2020, got a historic look at the sun's south pole.
Plenty of spacecraft and telescopes have throughout the years been able to observe the sun up close – with plenty more missions on the way.
In late-December 2024, NASA's Parker Solar Probe got closer to the sun than any spacecraft before it. Earlier that same month, the European Space Agency sent a pair of satellites toward the sun to create "solar eclipses on demand."
And in March, NASA sent four small satellites on its PUNCH mission to study how the sun's outer atmosphere becomes solar wind.
But no spacecraft has ever gotten a good look at either of the sun's poles.
Until now.
In March, a spacecraft captured the first-ever clear images of the sun's south pole, which the European Space Agency released Wednesday, June 11.
'We reveal humankind's first-ever views of the sun's pole,' Carole Mundell, director of science for the European Space Agency, said in a statement. 'These new unique views from our Solar Orbiter mission are the beginning of a new era of solar science.'
Here's a look at what the Solar Orbiter captured, and why ESA officials believe it will help scientists better understand our life-giving host star.
Solar Orbiter: Newly-released photos capture the sun in highest resolution ever
ESA orbiter gets 1st look at sun's south pole
Before you saw the picture above, any image you have ever seen of the sun was taken from around its equator.
Why? Because Earth, like all the planets in our solar system, orbits the sun along a line across a flat, disc-shaped plane in the sky known as the ecliptic. That means all the spacecraft we launch into orbit tend to do so as well.
But by tilting the Solar Orbiter's orbit out of that plane, the ESA was able to reveal the sun from a brand new angle.
The process began in February 2025 when the Solar Orbiter passed closely by Venus for a gravitational boost that allowed the spacecraft to push itself out of the orbital plane to see the sun at a higher angle. Then on March 23, the Solar Orbiter whizzed by the sun at an angle of 17 degrees, as compared to the 7 degree-orbit of all the planets and other sun-observing spacecraft, to get some historic snapshots of the south pole.
A few days prior, the Solar Orbiter was also able to view the sun from an angle of 15 degrees below the equator while using its fleet of on-board instruments to observe the sun in different wavelengths – including visible light and ultraviolet light.
The images were taken as the sun's peak activity, known as its solar maximum, begins to wind down. ESA scientists believe that studying the sun's polar regions could be key to unlocking secrets about the sun's 11-year solar cycle, which can cause space weather that disrupts satellites and even causes northern lights to flourish.
"The sun is our nearest star, giver of life and potential disruptor of modern space and ground power systems, so it is imperative that we understand how it works and learn to predict its behavior," Mundell said.
What is the Solar Orbiter?
The Solar Orbiter launched February 2020 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with 10 scientific instruments to study the sun.
Its mission? Gather images of the sun from closer than any spacecraft before it and study the hot star's polar regions to understand things like the sun's atmosphere, its solar cycle and how solar wind forms.
In November, the ESA released images the Solar Orbiter obtained in March 2023 that the agency said are the highest-resolution views of the sun's surface, known as the photosphere, to date.
Solar Orbiter also got a look at sun's north pole
According to the ESA, the best views from the Solar Orbiter are yet to come.
In the coming years, the Solar Orbiter will continue to orbit around the sun at even higher angles, reaching as much as 33 degrees in July 2029.
Scientists at the ESA also expect to receive images of the north solar pole by October that the Solar Orbiter has already taken.
'This is just the first step," Daniel Müller, Solar Orbiter project scientist for the ESA, said in a statement. "In the coming years, the spacecraft will climb further out of the ecliptic plane for ever better views of the sun's polar regions."
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Elon Musk trades threats with Trump: What it could mean for SpaceX, Starship in Texas
When President Donald Trump took office in January, he began offering plenty of signs that his goals for U.S. spaceflight aligned closely with those of billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk. Now those goals, which included making reaching Mars during Trump's second term a top priority, appear to be up in the air with the increasingly volatile fallout between two of the world's most powerful men. As insults have turned to threats, Trump has suggested he'd hit Musk where it could hurt most: His wallet. Musk's SpaceX has spent years positioning itself at the center of American civil and military spaceflight – a profitable relationship that has made the company's founder incredibly wealthy. In response, Musk has floated – and then retracted – the idea of decommissioning a SpaceX vehicle critical to NASA's spaceflight program. Serious threats, or empty words? That remains to be seen as Musk and Trump reportedly consider a détente. In the meantime, here's what to know about what's at stake if the U.S. government's relationship with SpaceX were to crumble: U.S. spaceflight: Dozens of NASA space missions could be axed under Trump's budget The feud between Trump and his former top adviser escalated in a dramatic fashion when the president threatened to cut off the taxpayer dollars that have fueled Elon Musk's businesses, including SpaceX. "The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts," Trump said in a post on his social media platform. "I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it!" In all, Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, a Washington Post analysis found. With SpaceX as the fulcrum of much of the U.S. government's spaceflight programs, parting ways with the commercial company would leave a void that would be hard to fill. But NASA Press Secretary Bethany Stevens said in a post on social media site X that 'NASA will continue to execute upon the President's vision for the future of space.' 'We will continue to work with our industry partners to ensure the President's objectives in space are met,' Stevens wrote. Elon Musk, the world's richest man, founded SpaceX, in 2002. In July 2024, Musk announced his intentions to move his company, as well as social media platform X's headquarters, from California to Texas. The move was in response to his personal frustrations over a public school policy in California regarding transgender students. Now, the commercial spaceflight company is headquartered at Starbase in South Texas about 180 miles south of Corpus Christi. The site, which is where SpaceX has been conducting routine flight tests of its 400-foot megarocket known as Starship, was recently voted by residents to become its own city. SpaceX conducts many of its own rocket launches, most using the Falcon 9 rocket, from both California and Florida. That includes a regular cadence of deliveries of Starlink internet satellites into orbit, and occasional privately-funded commercial crewed missions on the Dragon. The most recent of SpaceX's private human spaceflights, a mission known as Fram2, took place in April. SpaceX was also famously involved in funding and operating the headline-grabbing Polaris Dawn crewed commercial mission in September 2024. SpaceX benefits from billions of dollars in contracts from NASA and the Department of Defense by providing launch services for classified satellites and other payloads. Gwynne Shotwell, CEO of SpaceX, has said the company has about $22 billion in government contracts, according to Reuters. The vast majority of that, about $15 billion, is derived from NASA. SpaceX's famous two-stage Falcon 9 rocket ‒ one of the world's most active ‒ is routinely the rocket of choice to get many NASA missions off the ground. For instance, the rocket is due in the days ahead to help propel a four-person crew of private astronauts to the International Space Station for a venture with NASA known as Axiom Mission 4. NASA also has plans to use SpaceX's Starship in its Artemis lunar missions to ferry astronauts aboard the Orion capsule from orbit to the moon's surface. The rocket, which is in development, has yet to reach orbit in any of its nine flight tests beginning in April 2023. SpaceX's Dragon capsule is also a famous vehicle that is widely used for a variety of spaceflights. The capsule, which sits atop the Falcon 9 for launches to orbit, is capable of transporting both NASA astronauts and cargo to the space station. Under NASA's commercial crew program, the U.S. space agency has been paying SpaceX for years to conduct routine spaceflights to the International Space Station using the company's own launch vehicles. The first of SpaceX's Crew missions ferrying astronauts to the orbital outpost on the Dragon began in 2020, with the tenth and most recent contingent reaching the station in March for about a six-month stay. Standing nearly 27 feet tall and about 13 feet wide, Dragon capsules can carry up to seven astronauts into orbit, though most of SpaceX's Crew missions feature a crew of four. The Dragon spacecraft also was the vehicle NASA selected to bring home the two NASA astronauts who rode the doomed Boeing Starliner capsule to the space station in June 2024. Certifying the Starliner capsule for operation would give NASA a second vehicle in addition to Dragon for regular spaceflights to orbit. Because Boeing is still developing its Starliner capsule, Dragon is the only U.S. vehicle capable of carrying astronauts to and from the space station. It's also one of four vehicles contracted to transport cargo and other supplies to the orbital laboratory. For that reason, Musk's threat Thursday, June 5 to decommission the Dragon "immediately" would be a severe blow to NASA if he were to follow through on it. Musk, though, appears to already be backing off on the suggestion, which he made in response to Trump's own threats. In response to a user who advised Musk to "Cool off and take a step back for a couple days," Musk replied: 'Good advice. Ok, we won't decommission Dragon.' Seven astronauts are aboard the International Space Station, including three Americans. Four of the astronauts rode a SpaceX Dragon to the station for a mission known as Crew-10, while the remaining three launched on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Contributing: Joey Garrison, Josh Meyer, USA TODAY; Reuters Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: SpaceX at center of Trump, Musk feud: What that could mean for Texas
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Video does not show astronaut exposing 'fake' life in space
"Former Astronaut Karen Nyberg Shows How NASA Fakes Space Flights.." a June 16, 2025 post on X claimed. It shares a video of a woman in front of a space station-like backdrop watching a chip bag float away from her, side-by-side with the same footage being filmed in front of a green screen. A person in a green body suit is manipulating the bag. The video garnered thousands of interactions in posts on X, Threads, Instagram and Facebook. The clip also circulated in posts making similar claims about Nyberg in French, Spanish and Italian. Nyberg is a retired NASA astronaut who completed two spaceflights during her career, including a 166-day stay on the ISS in 2013 (archived here). But she is not the woman in the green screen video. Comments on the post on X included links to previous debunks from USA Today and PolitiFact who named the woman in the video as Paige Windle. In the clip, a person off-camera is heard calling the woman Paige. Windle is the founder of a lifestyle management company and the wife of David Weiss, known online as "Flat Earth Dave," the host of "The Flat Earth Podcast." Contacted by AFP, Weiss confirmed Windle is the one on-camera. "This video never dies. It keeps coming back," Weiss said in a June 17 email. The video was originally posted on Weiss's YouTube channel as part of a series titled "Globebusters," but made no mention of Nyberg (archived here). "Someone took that clip and presented it as Karen Nyberg and it went viral a bunch of times and now it has started again," he said. He said he has repeatedly addressed the false use of the video, sharing with AFP the cover image of a YouTube video he posted in response to the false viral claims (archived here). Astronauts onboard the ISS experience microgravity, causing them and objects to float (archived here). At the altitude of the ISS, gravity is 90 percent of the total gravity one feels on Earth, but an absence of air resistance causes all objects in the ISS to fall at the same rate, producing a weightless appearance. The ISS stays afloat because it moves at a speed that matches the curve of the Earth, causing it to "fall around" the planet while staying at roughly the same altitude. The moon's orbit works in a similar way. NASA uses the ISS in part to study how extended time periods in microgravity and other conditions in space impact the human body as it prepares for future long-term missions in space. On her website, Nyberg features a video she recorded on the ISS where she worked on a quilt (archived here). Unlike in the video filmed in front of the green screen, Nyberg's hair and necklace float throughout the clip due to the microgravity conditions. AFP reached out to Nyberg's representative for comment, but a response was not forthcoming. AFP has previously debunked claims that ISS astronauts faked a video from the station.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Fiery explosion for SpaceX Starship in Texas. Will rocket still launch from Florida this year?
SpaceX's massive Starship exploded in a spectacular fiery blaze during a routine engine test in Texas – raising questions about what's next for Elon Musk's spaceflight company. The dramatic explosion marked the latest setback for SpaceX, which billionaire Musk founded in 2002, after Starship has failed to repeat the successes of previous missions in its first three test flights of 2025. This time, the mishap didn't occur during a launch, but rather during a test to prepare the rocket for its 10th overall flight since 2023. The spacecraft, standing nearly 400 feet tall when fully stacked, did not injure or endanger anyone when it exploded in a fireball that could be seen for miles, SpaceX said. Musk, whose public rift with President Donald Trump recently cast into doubt the future of the U.S. spaceflight program, appeared to initially make light of the mishap – saying "Just a scratch" in a post on social media site X. Here's what to know about the explosion of a vehicle that could be launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, by the end of 2025, as well as what could be next for a vehicle critical to both NASA and Musk's plans for human spaceflights in the years ahead. Starship is regarded as the world's largest and most powerful launch vehicle ever developed. At more than 400 total feet in height, Starship towers over SpaceX's famous Falcon 9 rocket – one of the world's most active – which stands at nearly 230 feet. When a Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral, it's possible to see it from Jacksonville to West Palm Beach. The Starship launch vehicle is composed of both a 232-foot Super Heavy rocket and the 171-foot upper stage spacecraft, or capsule where crew and cargo would ride. Super Heavy alone is powered by 33 of SpaceX's Raptor engines that give the initial burst of thrust at liftoff. The upper section, also called Starship or Ship for short, is the upper stage powered by six Raptor engines that will ultimately travel in orbit. Like Falcon 9, SpaceX is developing Starship to be a fully reusable transportation system, meaning both the rocket and vehicle can return to the ground for additional missions. In the years ahead, Starship is intended to carry both cargo and humans to Earth's orbit and deeper into the cosmos. NASA's lunar exploration plans, which appear to be in jeopardy under President Donald Trump's proposed budget, call for Artemis III astronauts aboard the Orion capsule to board the Starship while in orbit for a ride to the moon's surface. The explosion occurred around 11 p.m. local time Wednesday, June 18, while SpaceX was preparing for Starship's upcoming flight test, known as Flight 10, from Starbase – the company town in South Texas near the U.S.-Mexico border. The Starship spacecraft was standing alone on the test stand prior to being mounted on top of the booster when it blew up. The company attributed it to a "major anomaly,' and said all personnel were safe. SpaceX test-fires the engines on the Starship before it is mated with Super Heavy. In this case, the Starship vehicle had already undergone a single-engine fire earlier in the week and SpaceX was preparing to test all six when the explosion occurred. The mishap, which SpaceX later referred to on its website as "a sudden energetic event," completely destroyed the spacecraft and ignited several fires that caused damage in the area surrounding the test stand. While SpaceX is investigating the mishap, Musk said in a post on X that preliminary data suggests that a pressurized tank failed at the top of the rocket. 'If further investigation confirms that this is what happened, it is the first time ever for this design,' Musk added. Musk has aggressively sought for his commercial spaceflight company to develop its Starship spacecraft to fulfill his ambitious dream of sending the first humans to Mars. In a video SpaceX shared Thursday, May 29 after the most recent Starship test flight, Musk told his employees that he still believes it's feasible to send the first uncrewed Starship to Mars by the end of 2026. Under his vision, human expeditions aboard the Starship could then follow in the years after But Starship still has a long way to go in its development before it's ready to take humans to the moon or Mars. It does not appear as if the Federal Aviation Administration will not conduct an investigation into the latest explosion since "the activity and anomaly were not associated with licensed activity," the agency said Friday, June 20, in an email to the USA TODAY Network. But in addition to simply being able to fly safely – in other words, without exploding – Starship also needs to be capable of refueling in orbit. The maneuver would be an especially difficult one that's never before been accomplished. SpaceX is planning to increase the number of Starship launches after receiving key regulatory approval to conduct 25 flight tests a year. Just four Starship test missions were conducted in 2024. Following the latest Starship launch in late-May, Musk had previously said the next 3 test flights would occur in quicker succession, with a Starship launch taking place every three-to-four weeks. The previous three missions have fallen far short of previous Starship flight tests. For three tests between June and November 2024, Starship flew halfway around the world before reentering Earth's atmosphere and splashing down as planned in the Indian Ocean. In its most recent demonstration May 27, Starship spun out of control roughly halfway through its flight and disintegrated in a fireball before achieving some of its most important objectives. Still, the distance the vehicle traveled far surpassed the previous 2025 flights in January and March, when Starship exploded within minutes. In both January and March 2025, the vehicles used in the tests instead met their demise in dramatic explosions that sent cascades of fiery debris streaking across the sky in Caribbean countries and Florida – disrupting air traffic. In both cases, the upper stage, the vehicle where astronauts and cargo would ride, came apart mere minutes into its flight during the ascent. While both explosions occurred at about the same point in the flight, the causes were 'distinctly different,' SpaceX said in an update May 22. In the latest fiery mishap in March, it wasn't a fire in the attic, but rather a "flash" closer to the bottom section that caused "an energetic event" that led the vehicle to shut down, lose communication and trigger its own self destruction, SpaceX determined. Contributing: Reuters Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on Florida Today: After SpaceX Starship explosion, is Cape Canaveral launch still a go?
