The sun just leaked a huge amount of helium-3 — the rare isotope scientists want to harvest on the moon

Solar Orbiter took this image of the sun during its close approach in March 2022. At that time, the spacecraft was closer to the star than the solar system's innermost planet Mercury.

The sun just released a burst of a rare form of helium known as helium-3 (³He). What's peculiar is this lightweight, elusive isotope isn't usually seen in such high amounts.

"This rare isotope, which is lighter than the more common ⁴He by just one neutron, is scarce in our solar system — found at a ratio of about one ³He ion per 2,500 ⁴He ions," Radoslav Bucik, lead scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in the U.S., said in a statement. "However, solar jets appear to preferentially accelerate ³He to high speeds or energies, likely due to its unique charge-to-mass ratio."