The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 22 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicThe thousands of networks of cells called supergranules that cover the Sun's surface are most easily visible in 'dopplergrams'. A dopplergram, such as this one from the SOHO spacecraft, shows motions on the Sun's surface with areas moving toward us appearing dark, and areas moving away, bright. This image is the result of averaging 30 velocity images and subtracting the Sun's rotation, and can also be thought of as a map of the speed of the Sun's surface. Supergranules are large cells, measuring around 30 000 kilometres across (about two Earths across) but their origin and depth are currently unknown.