SPICE_CIII-977_intensity_withlabel (IMAGE)
Caption
SPICE sees the Sun's south pole
The Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument on the ESA-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft got its first good look at the Sun's south pole in March 2025.
With this intensity map, and the associated doppler map, we compare two of SPICE's views of the Sun's south pole, both based on measurements of the light sent out by charged particles (ions) of carbon at a temperature of 32 000 °C. These ions live in the transition region, a thin layer around the Sun where the temperature rapidly increases from around 10 000 °C to hundreds of thousands of degrees.
This intensity map reveals the locations of clumps of carbon ions.
Solar Orbiter is a space mission of international collaboration between ESA and NASA. The Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instrument is a European-led facility instrument, led by the Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS) in Paris, France.
Credit
ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/SPICE Team, M. Janvier (ESA) & J. Plowman (SwRI)
Usage Restrictions
Credit must be given to the creator. Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.
License
CC BY-SA