---
title: "Scientists Release Stunning Picture Taken Really Close to the Sun"
description: "An extraordinary image from the ESA shows the Sun from much closer than Earth — and spoiler alert, it's pretty incredible."
date: "2022-03-28"
modified: "2022-03-28"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/stunning-picture-close-sun"
categories:
  - "Off-World"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "ESA"
  - "solar orbiter"
  - "the digest"
  - "the sun"
---

# Scientists Release Stunning Picture Taken Really Close to the Sun

![An extraordinary image from the ESA shows the Sun from much closer than Earth — and spoiler alert, it's pretty incredible.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/stunning-picture-close-sun.png>)
*\<em\>Image: ESA\</em\>*

## Sun Spotting

The European Space Agency has released an extraordinary image obtained by its Solar Orbiter, a sophisticated spacecraft designed to observe the Sun from much closer than Earth — and spoiler alert, it's pretty incredible.

You can see a zoomed out version below, but to really appreciate the sheer majesty of the image, it's worth [clicking here](<https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/images/esa_multimedia/images/2022/03/the_sun_in_high_resolution/24010613-1-eng-GB/The_Sun_in_high_resolution.jpg>) for the full-resolution version. That tiny speck in the upper right corner? Yep, that's the entirety of the Earth to scale.

https://twitter.com/ESASolarOrbiter/status/1508081656367923208

## Enhance! Enhance!

The end result was stitched together from 25 separate shots, [the ESA explained](<https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Solar_Orbiter/Zooming_into_the_Sun_with_Solar_Orbiter>), taken by the Solar Orbiter's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager instrument as the spacecraft passed directly between the Earth and the Sun. The probe was about halfway between the Earth and our star at the time.

The resulting data, according to the agency, could lead to unprecedented scientific understanding of eruptions on the surface of our star and how they relate to things happening deeper down into the solar atmosphere.

But to the layperson, the image is also just a stunning reminder of the beauty, complexity and raw power of the star around which we all orbit.

**More on the Sun:** [*Unfortunate Comet Flies Too Close to the Sun, Disintegrates and Becomes a Ghost*](<https://futurism.com/comet-leonard-close-sun-disintegrated>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)