Streamers around the Sun
The Sun is continuously sending out streams of charged particles called the solar wind. Some of this wind is sent out in gusts along (aptly named) ‘streamers’, which look like bright rays pointing out from the Sun.
Comparing directions to the numbers on a clock, the brightest streamers in this image point out from 1 o'clock and 8 o'clock.
This image was recorded on 16 July 2025. At this time, the Sun was at solar maximum, the most active time in the 11-year solar cycle. This meant streamers carrying solar wind could point in all directions.
As the Sun’s activity slows down over the next few years and the Sun’s magnetic field becomes less chaotic, streamers will mostly come from near the solar equator.
The (artificially coloured) yellow part of the image shows the Sun in ultraviolet light, recorded by the SWAP telescope on ESA's Proba-2 spacecraft. The green image around it was captured in visible light by the ASPIICS coronagraph on ESA's Proba-3.
Proba-3 is unique in that no other spacecraft can observe this level of detail this close to the Sun. On top of this, it takes images quickly. Combining these images into a video makes it possible to closely track solar wind in the Sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona.
[Image description: A square image with the Sun in the centre. The Sun looks yellow, with bright and dark regions. Surrounding this central image is a different image in green, showing green glowing arcs and rays extending out from the Sun. Two large rays stand out in the top centre-right and bottom left.]
Proba-3 tracks solar wind moving close to the Sun
Proba-3 sees slow solar wind speeding close to the Sun
Proba-3 captures movement in the Sun’s corona
Coronal mass ejection captured by Proba-2, Proba-3 and SOHO
