For the first time, scientists have captured clear images of the sun’s south pole with the help of a European spacecraft designed to observe the star from new angles. The Solar Orbiter mission, led by the European Space Agency (ESA), achieved this milestone in March, providing an unprecedented view of the Sun’s south pole using a carefully tilted orbit. The breakthrough offers new opportunities to study solar behavior that was previously hidden from view.
Until now, nearly all images of the sun have been taken from around its equator. This limitation exists because Earth and its neighboring planets follow a flat orbital path, known as the ecliptic, around the sun. Spacecraft launched from Earth tend to stay within that plane, restricting their view to the sun’s middle regions.
The Solar Orbiter changed that by shifting its orbit to a higher angle. This maneuver was made possible in February 2025, when the spacecraft flew close to Venus. The planet’s gravity gave the orbiter enough momentum to lift out of the standard orbital path.
Just weeks later, on March 23, it passed the sun at a 17-degree tilt—more than double the angle of most sun-focused missions—to capture detailed images of the southern polar region.
The ESA released the historic photos on June 11, calling them a major step forward in solar research. “We reveal humankind’s first-ever views of the sun’s pole,” said Carole Mundell, the agency’s director of science. “These new unique views from our Solar Orbiter mission are the beginning of a new era of solar science.”
ICYMI, Solar Orbiter delivered humanity’s first clear views of the Sun’s south pole
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— ESA Science (@esascience) June 12, 2025
A few days earlier, the orbiter had also gathered images from 15 degrees below the equator. Using its onboard tools, it captured data across multiple wavelengths, including visible and ultraviolet light. These observations come as the sun begins to move past the peak of its current activity cycle, known as the solar maximum.
Scientists believe that viewing the sun’s poles will help unlock the secrets behind its 11-year activity cycle. This cycle influences solar storms and flares that can disrupt satellites, power grids, and radio signals on Earth. Polar activity may also help explain how solar wind forms and why it varies.
The Solar Orbiter launched in February 2020 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Carrying 10 instruments, its mission is to study the sun up close and from different perspectives. In 2023, it captured the highest-resolution images ever taken of the sun’s surface, known as the photosphere.
The spacecraft is expected to deliver even more dramatic views in the coming years. By 2029, it will reach an orbit angle of up to 33 degrees, allowing for clearer images of both the north and south poles. ESA scientists plan to release images of the sun’s north pole as early as October.
“This is just the first step,” said Daniel Müller, ESA’s lead scientist for the mission. “In the coming years, the spacecraft will climb further out of the ecliptic plane for ever better views of the sun’s polar regions.”
