Solar Orbiter

active Mission

An international cooperative mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, Solar Orbiter is a Sun-observing satellite with 10 science instruments, all designed to provide unprecedented insight into how our local star 'works.'

Type

Orbiter

Launch

Feb. 9, 2020

Target

Sun

Objective

Take close-up images of the Sun, observe solar wind and the Sun's polar regions

Solar Orbiter Stories

Explore All Solar Orbiter Stories

Article

5 min read

NASA, ESA Missions Help Scientists Uncover How Solar Wind Gets Energy

A large portion of the Sun fills most of the image, with black space in the top right corner. Surrounding the Sun is a model of the solar atmosphere, appearing net-like. The Parker Solar Probe spacecraft appears small and is flying into the atmosphere in the upper right.

Article

5 min read

Multiple Spacecraft Tell the Story of One Giant Solar Storm

An animation shows a white cloud of material billowing away from the Sun (which is covered by a black disk at the center) toward the left side of the image, set against a red background with a couple dozen stars. The top says "STEREO Ahead COR2" and the bottom shows the date 2021-04-17 with the time progressing from 12:23:30 to 23:53:30.

3 min read

A New Space Instrument Captures Its First Solar Eruption

Article4 years ago

3 min read

Unique Solar System Views from NASA Sun-Studying Missions

Article4 years ago

5 min read

ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter Returns First Data, Snaps Closest Pictures of the Sun

Article4 years ago

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The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom portion and a comparatively clear upper portion. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The smallest of these are small, distant, and faint points of light. The largest of these appear larger, closer, brighter, and more fully resolved with 8-point diffraction spikes. The upper portion of the image is blueish, and has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orangish cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The stars vary in color, the majority of which have a blue or orange hue. The cloud-like structure of the nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys – an appearance very similar to a mountain range. Three long diffraction spikes from the top right edge of the image suggest the presence of a large star just out of view.

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