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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science
Hannah Devlin Science correspondent

Sun’s south pole revealed for first time, in images from Solar Orbiter spacecraft

A radiance map of the sun's south pole as recorded by the Solar Orbiter spacecraft.
A radiance map of the sun's south pole as recorded by the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. Photograph: European Space Agency/Reuters

The sun’s uncharted south pole has been revealed for the first time in striking images beamed back from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft.

The joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Nasa mission swooped below the planetary plane and, for the first time, captured the sun’s mysterious polar regions. The groundbreaking observations also mapped a chaotic patchwork of magnetic activity at the sun’s pole that scientists say is key to understanding how the sun’s field flips roughly every 11 years.

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