The Solar Orbiter space mission, a joint initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, has for the first time captured detailed images of the Sun's South Pole in a previously unexplored region. These pioneering observations have been made possible by the spacecraft's orbit and its advanced instrumentation, which allows the different layers of the solar atmosphere to be studied and the magnetic field on the Sun's surface to be measured. In this new scientific breakthrough, the contribution of experts from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the Institute of Space Studies of Catalonia (ICCUB-IEEC) has been decisive.
The team led by Professor José María Gómez Cama, ICUCB-IEEC researcher and member of the UB's Department of Electronic and Biomedical Engineering, has been responsible for developing and implementing the image stabilization system (ISS) of the PHI (Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager) instrument.
At the same time, ICCUB's Heliospheric Physics and Space Meteorology Group and the Department of Quantum Physics and Astrophysics have provided scientific support to the energetic particle detector (EPD) team, with the development of models to predict the levels of particle radiation during solar storms, a crucial aspect for the safety of the mission.
The first images of the Sun's South Pole
The Sun has a highly dynamic magnetic field that follows a cycle of about eleven years. During this period, solar activity - sunspots, solar flares, solar storms, etc. - can occur. In the middle of the cycle, a fascinating phenomenon takes place: the reversal of the polarity of the solar magnetic field, whereby the magnetic north pole becomes the South Pole and vice versa.
However, this process is neither instantaneous nor uniform. It starts with a reorganization of the magnetic field at mid-latitudes and eventually affects the poles. Observing the solar poles is therefore crucial to understand how this reversal occurs and how it impacts the behaviour of the Sun and space weather.
