The Solar Orbiter is Giving Us an Unprecedented Look at the Sun's Poles

The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun follows during a year. It's an imaginary line that the planets follow, with some small deviations, around the Sun. Spacecraft find it easier to follow the ecliptic because it's generally more energy efficient. However, the Solar Orbiter isn't on the ecliptic and it's giving us our first up-close looks at the Sun's poles.

Jun 13, 2025 - 00:50
 0
The Solar Orbiter is Giving Us an Unprecedented Look at the Sun's Poles

The south pole of the Sun, photographed by the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instrument aboard Solar Orbiter on 30 March 2022. Image Credit: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI Team

The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun follows during a year. It's an imaginary line that the planets follow, with some small deviations, around the Sun. Spacecraft find it easier to follow the ecliptic because it's generally more energy efficient. However, the Solar Orbiter isn't on the ecliptic and it's giving us our first up-close looks at the Sun's poles.