First pictures of the Sun's south pole taken
A special space robot called the Solar Orbiter has taken the first ever photos and videos of the Sun's south pole. The new pictures show a super hot, glowing part of the Sun. The Solar Orbiter was sent by the European Space Agency to take these pictures to help scientists learn more about how Earth's nearest star actually works.These images will help scientists learn about the cycles of the Sun, which can sometimes turn from calm to stormy, which is important as it can affect things on Earth.
Scientists are really excited about these pictures as they are the closest and most detailed images that have ever been taken of the Sun. "Today we reveal humankind's first-ever views of the Sun's pole" said Prof Carole Mundell, ESA's Director of Science. These pictures will help scientists learn about the changes in the Sun which go in cycles - sometimes the sun is calm and other times it gets stormy and sends out strong bursts of energy.
Why do the Sun's poles and cycles matter?
From Earth, the Sun looks like a bright, round ball but with special cameras, scientists can see it's actually very active, with swirling magnetic fields that twist and turn. These magnetic fields help decide when the Sun has a storm and when it's quiet.Before the new data and images scientists weren't able to track how these magnetic fields moved towards the Sun's poles, but now with the Solar Orbiter's help they can. This new learning should help scientists to build better computer models which could help predict the Sun's weather and that could help them know when to prepare for a solar storm. As solar storms can affect things like satellites, phone signals, and even power grids, this is a really helpful thing to know.
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