Staring at the Sun — close-up images from space rewrite solar science
- ️Witze, Alexandra
- ️Wed Oct 25 2023
- NEWS FEATURE
- 25 October 2023
Researchers have never had such detailed views of our nearest star.
In August last year, the Sun began to throw a tantrum. Clusters of dark spots appeared on its face, marking regions where magnetic fields were knotting and twisting its surface. By early September, some of these sunspots had rotated around to the far side of the Sun — and let loose an enormous belch of superheated gas. This huge eruption raced outwards, engulfing a US$1.5-billion spacecraft that was orbiting nearby.
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$29.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Additional access options:
Nature 622, 684-685 (2023)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03301-1
References
Berger, T. E. et al. Space Weather 21, e2022SW003330 (2023).
Telloni, D. et al. Astrophys. J. 955, L4 (2023).
Niembro, T. et al. Front. Astron. Space Sci. 10, 1191294 (2023).
Patel, R. et al. Astrophys. J. 955, L1 (2023).
Long, D. M. et al. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.14651 (2023).
Stenborg, G. et al. Astrophys. J. 949, 61 (2023).
Romeo, O. M. et al. Astrophys. J. 954, 168 (2023).
Related Articles
-
What powers the Sun’s mysterious wind? A daring spacecraft has some answers
-
China’s first solar observatory aims to solve mysteries of the Sun’s eruptions
-
Spacecraft will take first-ever images of Sun’s elusive poles
NASA spacecraft ‘touches’ the Sun for the first time ever
This photo of the Sun is the closest ever taken
World’s most powerful solar telescope is up and running
Sun-bombing spacecraft uncovers secrets of the solar wind