Overview
- Solar Orbiter’s orbit tilted about 17 degrees out of the ecliptic in March 2025, providing the first clear, direct views of the solar poles.
- Data from PHI on March 21 and EUI from March 16–24 resolved the south pole’s supergranulation and magnetic network.
- Researchers measured poleward drift of the polar magnetic field at roughly 10–20 meters per second.
- The observed speeds are comparable to lower-latitude flows and contrast with earlier ecliptic-based assessments that suggested much slower polar motion.
- The Max Planck–led team reports the results in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and emphasizes that longer-term observations are needed to test whether these flows persist through the solar cycle.