Solar Orbiter mission captures images of the Sun's south pole for the first time ever

For as long as humans have been observing the Sun, we’ve seen it from roughly the same perspective – head-on, along its equator. That’s because Earth, all the other planets, and every spacecraft we’ve ever launched orbit the Sun in the same flat plane, known as the ecliptic.

But this view is incomplete and has left one part shrouded in mystery: the Sun’s poles. That’s beginning to change.

Thanks to a shift in its orbit, Solar Orbiter has become the first spacecraft to capture images of the Sun’s poles from outside the ecliptic.

First view of the Sun’s pole

On March 23, 2025, Solar Orbiter reached an angle of 17° below the Sun’s equator. From that position, it could look directly at the Sun’s south pole.

Over the next several years, the spacecraft will gradually increase its orbital tilt, offering even clearer views.

“Today we reveal humankind’s first-ever views of the Sun’s pole,” said ESA’s Director of Science, Prof. Carole Mundell.

“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 behaviour. These new unique views from our Solar Orbiter mission are the beginning of a new era of solar science.”

The images captured on March 16–17, just before reaching that maximum tilt, came from three different instruments: the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI), the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI), and the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE). Together, they provide a multi-layered look at the Sun.

What the instruments saw

Each instrument offers a distinct glimpse into solar activity. PHI images the Sun in visible light and maps its surface magnetic field.

EUI picks up ultraviolet light from the hot outer atmosphere, revealing the structure of the Sun’s corona. SPICE captures emissions from different temperature zones above the surface, painting a layered picture of solar gas movements.

“We didn’t know what exactly to expect from these first observations – the Sun’s poles are literally terra incognita,” said Prof. Sami Solanki, who leads the PHI instrument team.

When these different data sets are combined, they tell a much fuller story. Scientists can track how material moves through the Sun’s outer layers.

They’re even beginning to spot swirling patterns that may resemble polar vortices that are similar to phenomena seen on Venus and Saturn.

Magnetic chaos at the Sun’s pole

Among the most surprising early findings is the disordered state of the magnetic field near the Sun’s south pole. Normally, a magnetic field has a clear north and south orientation. But the PHI instrument detected both polarities at the same pole.

This mixed state occurs only briefly during the peak of the solar cycle, known as solar maximum, when the Sun’s magnetic field flips.

After this period, one magnetic polarity typically becomes dominant at each pole, reaching a stable state during solar minimum.

“How exactly this build-up occurs is still not fully understood, so Solar Orbiter has reached high latitudes at just the right time to follow the whole process from its unique and advantageous perspective,” noted Prof. Solanki.

PHI’s global view of the magnetic field shows the most intense activity occurring in bands around the Sun’s equator. These areas, marked in deep red and blue, are where sunspots appear. Meanwhile, the poles are speckled with patches of mixed polarity, a sign of the Sun’s ongoing magnetic upheaval.

SPICE tracks movement for the first time

Another milestone for Solar Orbiter comes from the SPICE instrument, which has begun tracking motion in the Sun’s atmosphere.

SPICE has already been capturing light from elements like hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. Now, scientists have used it to measure how quickly these particles are moving – something known as Doppler velocity.

This kind of tracking works the same way a siren changes pitch as it speeds past. The velocity map produced by SPICE shows how particles in a narrow atmospheric layer move toward or away from the spacecraft.

Comparing this velocity data with intensity maps helps pinpoint where and how gas is flowing. For instance, dark blue and red areas show faster movement – likely caused by small jets or plumes.

These measurements are critical for understanding how the Sun generates solar wind, one of the Solar Orbiter’s core objectives.

“Doppler measurements of solar wind setting off from the Sun by current and past space missions have been hampered by the grazing view of the solar poles. Measurements from high latitudes, now possible with Solar Orbiter, will be a revolution in solar physics,” said SPICE team leader, Frédéric Auchère from the University of Paris-Saclay.

Unlocking mysteries of the Sun’s poles

These initial observations are only a small part of what Solar Orbiter is set to deliver. The full dataset from this pole-to-pole journey will arrive on Earth by October 2025.

Over time, all ten of the spacecraft’s instruments will continue to collect more data, offering even sharper and more detailed observations.

“This is just the first step of Solar Orbiter’s “stairway to heaven”: in the coming years, the spacecraft will climb further out of the ecliptic plane for ever better views of the Sun’s polar regions. These data will transform our understanding of the Sun’s magnetic field, the solar wind, and solar activity,” noted ESA’s project scientist, Daniel Müller.

The Sun’s poles may have been hidden from us until now, but Solar Orbiter is finally pulling back the curtain. What it finds could help us understand everything from the next solar flare to the larger rhythms of space weather – and perhaps even help protect the technology we rely on here on Earth.

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The mission is led by the European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with scientific teams from institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the University of Paris-Saclay, and others.

Information based on a press release of the ESA.

Image credit: European Space Agency/Reuters

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