The Solar Orbiter spacecraft, equipped with the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI), has released remarkable high-resolution images of the Sun, taken on March 22, 2023. These images provide unprecedented views of the solar photosphere and its magnetic field dynamics.
The first image showcases the visible surface of the Sun, known as the photosphere, which exhibits a temperature range of 4500 to 6000 °C. The most notable features are the sunspots—dark regions where the Sun's magnetic field disrupts the convective flow of hot plasma, resulting in cooler areas that emit less light.
The second image, a magnetogram, illustrates the Sun's magnetic field concentration around sunspots. The magnetic field's direction is represented in red (outward) and blue (inward), while grey indicates areas with negligible magnetic influence. This mapping reveals the strong magnetic fields that inhibit convection, contributing to the formation of sunspots.
These images, composed of approximately 8000 pixels across the Sun's diameter, are part of a set that includes the first high-resolution full-disc views from PHI and an additional image capturing the Sun's corona from the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI).