Seeing both sides of the Sun at once

This video shows the Sun as seen from Earth orbit by ESA’s Proba-2 mission on the left, and as seen from the opposite side of the Sun by the ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission on the right. The two spacecraft carry an almost-identical imager instrument which takes photos of the Sun in ultraviolet light. The images shown here were measured by Proba-2’s SWAP imager and Solar Orbiter’s EUI instrument at a wavelength of 17.4 nanometres.

By watching the side of the Sun facing away from Earth, Solar Orbiter has allowed us to track the monster active region AR3664 as it rotates in and out of Earth’s view. AR3664 has been very active in May 2024, producing many powerful solar flares and sending out highly energetic particles and large amounts of material in so-called coronal mass ejections. It was responsible for the beautiful aurorae seen on Earth on 10–12 May, and on 20 May Solar Orbiter saw it produce the largest solar flare of the current solar cycle (class X12).

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