
Solar Orbiter Sends Back Jaw-Dropping Image Of Sun's Corona
The sun's million-degree hot atmosphere, called the corona, as it looks in ultraviolet light, taken ... More by ESA's Solar Orbiter spacecraft on March 9, 2025.
The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter spacecraft — launched in February 2020 and taking the first-ever images of the sun at close range — has sent back one of the most detailed images of our star.
The widest high-resolution view of the sun so far was assembled from 200 images taken on March 9, 2025, while Solar Orbiter was about 48 million miles (77 million kilometers) from the sun. The sun is 93 million miles (148 million kilometers) from Earth.
It shows the sun's hotter outer atmosphere, its corona (crown), the source of the solar wind — a stream of charged particles coming at Earth from the sun — and the space weather that causes geomagnetic storms and aurora. The image captures only ultraviolet — electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than visible light and invisible to the human eye.
A composite of the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. (Photo by: VW Pics/Universal Images Group ... More via Getty Images)
The sun's corona is always in the sky, but it's overwhelmed by the sun's photosphere, which is a million times brighter. However, the corona's temperature is around 1.8 million degrees Fahrenheit (1 million degrees Celsius), 150 times hotter than the photosphere.
Only during the brief 'totality' phase of a total solar eclipse — which lasts only a few minutes and only from a narrow path across Earth's surface — can the corona be glimpsed with the naked eye when it is seen as a halo of whitish light around the moon's silhouette. The brevity of an eclipse makes it difficult for solar physicists to study the corona. However, live images of the sun are streamed back to Earth in real time by NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory.
This animation shows how Solar Orbiter obtains its high-resolution full Sun views.
Solar Orbiter has six ultraviolet telescopes taking the first observations from close to the sun. Its Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) camera captured six images at high resolution and two wide-angle views to create 200 individual images across a 5 x 5 grid. The images were then stitched together to create a giant mosaic. It can be downloaded in spectacular 12544 × 12544 pixels (157 megapixels) quality from the ESA website.
It comes the day after the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope — the world's largest solar telescope — on top of the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii produced a spectacular first image of sunspots on the sun.
ESA's Solar Orbiter
The shape of the corona changes shape throughout the 11-year solar cycle, during which the sun's magnetic activity waxes and wanes between 'solar minimum' and 'solar maximum. Solar Orbiter's image comes as the sun is in its "solar maximum" period, which scientists at NOAA and NASA think began in October 2024.
Solar Orbiter's image is essential because solar scientists need to understand what processes on the sun — and chiefly in its corona — cause geomagnetic disturbances on Earth so they can predict them, thus protecting critical infrastructure on Earth and in space.
The path of totality sweeps near Iceland and over Spain on August 12, 2026.
The next total solar eclipse is on Aug. 12, 2026. It will be seen from within a narrow path of totality that passes through eastern Greenland, western Iceland and northern Spain. Totality will last about two minutes. On Aug. 2, 2027, a totality lasting over six minutes will be seen from within a path passing through southern Spain, northern Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The next total solar eclipse in the contiguous U.S. will occur on Aug. 22, 2044.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What if your house changed color with the seasons? This ‘climate-responsive' paint could make it happen
Editor's Note: Design for Impact is a series spotlighting innovative solutions for communities affected by the climate crisis, natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies. When Joe Doucet bought a new house in Katonah, New York, he wanted to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. As a designer and inventor, he immediately found himself wondering whether the exterior of his home could play a role in mitigating the effects of climate change. 'One of the things I had not really considered before was: What color should I paint the house?' he told CNN, speaking in a video call. It's well known that light-colored buildings reflect heat and stay cooler while darker ones absorb — just compare chilly Scandinavia's black housing tradition to the whitewashed homes found across warm Mediterranean countries. But what shade would perform best in a climate like New York's, with hot summers but dark and snowy winters? Doucet started by 3D-printing small scale models of his house, complete with similar levels of insulation, and painting them in different colors. Over the course of a year, he found that in winter the inside temperature of the black model was on average 7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the white one. In summer, the white model house was 12 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. 'The answer wasn't, 'Should I paint it black or white?' The answer was: It should be black in winter and white in summer,' he said of the findings. 'It is not really feasible to paint a house twice a year. I began to think, 'Surely there are other ways of doing this?'' Doucet's solution was inspired by his childhood interest in mood rings, which feature manmade 'stones' that change appearance according to the wearer's finger temperature. 'I recall a fascination I had with a mood ring I received as a child and really trying to dig in and understand what it was,' he explained. 'I knew, even as 7-year-old, that (the ring's changing color) had nothing to do with my mood, that there was some type of chemistry at play. The chemistry that creates that change is very, very similar to what I used.' The process in question is called a thermochromic response, which refers to how chains of liquid crystals react to atmospheric temperature. In a mood ring, these liquid crystals are contained within the 'gemstone,' causing its color to change. Doucet developed a kind of thermochromic pigment containing the crystals and started experimenting with a tin of ordinary housepaint and different additives. The result was a substance that could change color by absorbing ultra-violet light (which produces heat) above a certain temperature. Despite what he called the 'great success' of his initial trials, Doucet found his new paints would slowly degrade in the sunlight. But after experimenting for another year, the designer solved the issue with the help of a protective additive. His climate-responsive paint, as he dubs it, appears 'very, very dark gray' below 77 degrees Fahrenheit and gradually turns lighter as the temperature rises. Doucet has since filed a patent application for the technology. He admits his invention won't be especially useful for people in consistently hot or cold climates. But Doucet believes his paint could be a 'game changer' for those living in the world's temperate zones — including large parts of North America, Europe and Asia — where average temperatures are typically higher than 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the warmest months but no lower than 26.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest. Last year was the hottest year on record. It was also the first calendar year to breach 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a critical climate threshold. Doucet sees his invention as a direct response to this changing climate, rather than innovative new technology: 'This could have been done 70 years ago, there was just no need for it,' he explained. 'Climate change wasn't an issue at the time.' But more than helping homeowners respond to rising temperatures, Doucet's invention could have an impact on their climate pollution amid increasing energy costs and dependence on air conditioning (in 2020, 88% of US households used AC, up from 77% two decades ago). The operation of buildings accounts for 30% of global energy consumption, according to the International Energy Agency. But homes with improved thermal control consume less power by reducing demand for both air conditioning and heating. Doucet's modeling 'conservatively' predicts his paint could help households save between 15% to 30% on their energy costs. Beyond the science, Doucet believes there is beauty in the idea that buildings might shift with the seasons, like the leaves on a tree. 'There's something poetic about seeing the built environment and the built world change with the seasons in the way nature does,' he said. He also notes that new climate-responsive paints need not only change from white to black: 'You can tint this pretty much any color,' he explained. A house could turn light blue in warmer months before turning a darker blue in the wintertime, he offered as an example. So, with his prototype technology developed, how long until people can paint their houses with it? 'Five to 10 years,' said Doucet, caveating that its proliferation will depend on how people react to it. So far, he said, responses have ranged from 'amazing' to 'I don't believe you.' The changing political climate may also impact his product's route to market. President Donald Trump's promise to 'terminate' his predecessor Joe Biden's clean energy policies — which he has called the 'Green New Scam' — has created an uncertain climate for eco-investing. Doucet, who is also involved with an wind energy venture, says the resulting change in how investors respond to green projects has made him reluctant to raise venture capital and go at it alone. Instead, he hopes to find a partner that can bring the invention to market, like a paint company, a chemical company or some combination of both. 'When situations change,' he said, referencing the Trump administration's plans to cut subsidies and tax rebates for clean energy projects, 'you need to change with them.' Nevertheless, Doucet appears confident that his creation has a potentially huge market. Not only could the paint be used on homes, but also larger buildings like schools, factories and other structures requiring a controlled internal environment. Though he is careful not to oversell the impact of his invention. 'There is no single solution to climate change. It's a series of steps and small actions,' he said. 'But this could be a meaningful one.'


USA Today
16 minutes ago
- USA Today
Could an asteroid hit the moon? Odds rise after NASA's Webb examines YR4. The projections
Could an asteroid hit the moon? Odds rise after NASA's Webb examines YR4. The projections NASA's James Webb Space Telescope caught the latest glimpse in May of asteroid 2024 YR4, which led to the odds of it impacting the moon in 2032 to rise to 4.3%. Show Caption Hide Caption Whew! Asteroid risk level shifts lower overnight for Earth impact. Asteroid 2024 YR4 had a 3.1% chance of hitting earth in 2032 according to experts, but the chances dropped to 1.5% overnight. Here's why. After YR4 was first discovered in late-2024, its odds of impact with Earth briefly rose to historically high levels before it was eventually ruled out as a threat during an upcoming flyby. Because the asteroid has now escaped from our view in its orbit around the sun, Webb's recent observations were also the last chance for humanity to observe YR4 until it reemerges in 2028. Earth is safe from space rocks for now, but the world's space agencies are preparing to mount a planetary defense if the need ever arose. Earth is perfectly safe from a menacing asteroid known as 2024 YR4 that is big enough to level a city, but the moon? Not so much. The odds that the asteroid could crash into our celestial neighbor only continue to climb every time astronomers have the chance to better study the massive space rock. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope caught the latest glimpse in May of YR4. The resulting data led the U.S. space agency to conclude that a 4.3% chance exists that YR4 is on a doomed collision course with the moon in 2032, NASA said in a June 5 blog post. That may not sound high, but keep this in mind: After YR4 was first discovered in late-2024, its odds of impact with Earth briefly rose to historically high levels – of just 3.1%. That was all it took for the space rock to grab headlines and warrant close attention from astronomers before it was eventually ruled out as a threat to our planet during an upcoming flyby in seven years. Because the asteroid has now escaped from our view in its orbit around the sun, Webb's recent observations were also the last chance for humanity to observe YR4 until it reemerges in 2028. NASA, though, is already making plans to study it again in three years when the asteroid is back in Earth's cosmic neighborhood. In the meantime, here's a refresher on asteroid 2024 YR4, and what to know about its potential upcoming encounter with the moon. Venus: Asteroids around Venus pose possible 'invisible threat' to Earth What is asteroid 2024 YR4? Because it's big enough to be deemed a "city killer," asteroid 2024 YR4 became a source of alarm due to the uncommonly high risk it had of colliding with Earth on Dec. 22, 2032. The space rock was reported on Dec. 27, 2024, to the Minor Planet Center, the official authority for observing and reporting new asteroids, comets and other small bodies in the solar system. The object eventually caught the attention of NASA and other astronomers when it rose on the U.S. Space Agency's Sentry Impact Risk Table, which tracks any known asteroids with a non-zero probability of hitting Earth. For a time, it was the only object among more than 37,000 known large space rocks with any chance of hitting Earth anytime soon – with its probability of impact even rising to a record level of 3.1%. That began to change in late February as more precise observations allowed scientists to effectively winnow down the asteroid's odds of impact to a number so low, it may as well be zero. NASA's Webb telescope observes 'city killer' asteroid Since YR4 was dismissed as a threat, NASA's Webb telescope has twice turned its eye toward the asteroid to gather some data. The first opportunity came March 8 when Webb – an advanced telescope launched in 2021 with powerful infrared instruments – gathered images allowing NASA and the European Space Agency to get a better idea of its size. According to the agencies' conclusion, 2024 YR4 measures anywhere from 174-220 feet, or about the size of a 10-story building. Earth safe from YR4, but impact odds for moon keep rising Earth may no longer be at risk of a calamitous collision with the asteroid, but the moon isn't so lucky. Webb's initial observations in March saw the odds of YR4 crashing into the moon rising from the 1.7% figure calculated in February to 3.8%, according to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, which tracks objects like asteroids at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Those odds rose once again to 4.3% after Webb's latest observations were made in May. According to NASA, the data helped improve scientists' understanding of where the asteroid will be on Dec. 22, 2032, by nearly 20% But rest assured: If our cosmic neighbor were to take such a hit from an asteroid of that size, NASA assures that the moon's orbit around Earth would not be altered. How might NASA, other agencies mount a planetary defense? YR4 and its much larger cousin, the equally infamous Apophis, were the most alarming space rocks astronomers have discovered and studied for decades. Now that the two asteroids have been ruled out as threats to Earth, astronomers still studying such imposing space rocks could help the world's space agencies prepare to mount a planetary defense if the need ever arose. NASA and the European Space Agency had plans to send uncrewed spacecraft to observe Apophis in the years ahead to map and study its surface to gain further insights into near-Earth asteroids. But NASA's mission is in jeopardy under President Donald Trump's budget. Protecting Earth from space rocks could look a little like the test NASA pulled off in 2022 when it demonstrated it was possible to nudge an incoming asteroid out of harm's way by slamming a spacecraft into one as part of its Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART. As of October, a craft from the European Space Agency is on the way to get an up-close look at the asteroid's remnants. NASA also is working on an asteroid-hunting telescope known as the NEO Surveyor to find near-Earth objects capable of causing significant damage. Now set to launch no earlier than 2027, the telescope is designed to discover 90% of asteroids and comets that are 460 feet in diameter or larger and come within 30 million miles of Earth's orbit. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@


E&E News
38 minutes ago
- E&E News
Panel sets markup of drone wildfire-fighting legislation
A House committee will vote this week on a bipartisan bill that seeks to boost the use of drones in fighting wildfires. The Science, Space and Technology Committee on Wednesday will mark up the 'Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) Act,' H.R. 390. It would authorize NASA to conduct research under its existing ACERO wildfire program to develop 'advanced aircraft technologies and airspace management efforts to assist in the management, deconfliction, and coordination of aerial assets during wildfire response efforts,' according to bill text. The bill would authorize $15 million for fiscal 2026. Advertisement The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Vince Fong (R-Calif.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.). A previous version of the bill, sponsored by then-Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), passed the House in 2024. Garcia lost his bid for reelection.