83 million pixel image shows unprecedented detail of the sun

New images of the Sun with a resolution of 83 million pixels by the Solar Orbiter probe show several unprecedented details of the star, such as its atmosphere and solar disk.

Using this information, scientists will be able to determine the eruptions that occur from the solar corona to the deeper layers of the atmosphere. Moreover, the images could help unravel a decades-old mystery: What makes the solar corona reach a million degrees Celsius, while the surface temperature is only 5,000 degrees Celsius?

mosaic of 25 photos

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the images were taken on March 7 when the spacecraft was about 75 million kilometers from the sun. Although it looks like a lot, this distance is about half the distance between the Earth and the Sun and as close as photographic equipment has been to the star.

Because of the proximity, it was necessary to take 25 photos, which together form a mosaic, reproducing the entire Sun.

One of the images was taken by a device called the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI), and according to the ESA, is the highest resolution image ever taken of the entire solar disk and corona, the outer atmosphere.

“The EUI High Resolution Telescope captures images with such high spatial resolution that, at this distance, a mosaic of 25 individual images is required to cover the entire sun. They were photographed one by one, and the complete image was captured in a period of more than four hours because [o registro de] Each part of the mosaic takes about 10 minutes, including the time it takes the spacecraft to position itself from one part to the next.”

The resolution of 83 million pixels delivers ten times more clarity than a 4K TV can produce.

Another solar vehicle tool used to capture the image is the Spice (Coronavirus Spectroscopic Imager), which makes it possible to analyze the Sun deeper from the corona into the atmosphere.

Using it, it was possible to produce an image of the Sun with a wavelength of ultraviolet radiation, emitted by gaseous hydrogen. And just as with the photos taken by EUI, it was also necessary to stitch the Spice photos together into a mosaic.

The sequence of images captured by this device displays different colors, which, according to ESA, show the temperatures of different elements. Gaseous hydrogen (purple) at 10,000 °C, carbon (blue) at 32,000 °C, oxygen (green) at 320,000 °C, and neon (yellow) at 630,000 °C.

As scientists on Earth continue to investigate the Sun’s never-before-seen detail, the Solar Orbiter probe continues to work and get closer to the Sun. Tomorrow (26), it will be at its closest to the Sun during its path.

The Solar Orbiter was launched in February 2020 and since then it has been used to collect data and images of the Sun.

* With information: European Space Agency (ESA)