images

Solar Orbiter

by

ESA/ATG medialab/Novapix

Reference

e-son50-00301

Date

2017-10-02

ESA’s Solar Orbiter is set to provide new views of our star, in particular providing close-up observations of the Sun’s poles.
Following its launch in February 2020 and three-year journey using gravity swingbys at Earth and Venus, Solar Orbiter will operate from an elliptical orbit around the Sun. At its closest it will approach our star within 42 million kilometres, closer than planet Mercury. An artist’s impression of Solar Orbiter in front of the stormy Sun is depicted here.