The hidden face of the sun has been revealed

For the first time in human history, the European Space Agency (ESA) has released images of the Sun's south pole to the public. The images have even amazed scientists.

The images were taken by three different instruments on the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, from a distance of about 64 million kilometers from the sun. They are said to have been taken during a period when the sun is at its most active.

In February 2025, Solar Orbiter was able to tilt Venus' orbit using its gravity to look down at the Sun from a 17-degree angle. This angle is expected to exceed 30 degrees in more complex Venus maneuvers in the coming years. At the same time, the Sun's poles will be observed even more clearly.

Professor Sami Solanki, the leader of the team responsible for studying the solar poles, says that this is not all. The most important data is still to come. The device first observed the south pole, then the north pole. Data on the north pole will arrive in the coming weeks.

For reference, the Sun is a giant ball of hot gas about 865,000 miles in diameter. It spins and creates a strong magnetic field. This field reverses its polarity every 11 years—a process known as a solar cycle. During the cycle, dark, cooler spots called sunspots appear on the Sun's surface. The number of these spots increases as the cycle progresses, and then decreases again.

Experts say that the data collected by Solar Orbiter will make a significant contribution to research on solar cycles.