Two probes are currently assisting scientists in investigating some of the Sun’s enduring mysteries: the unusually extreme heat of the corona, the origin of the solar wind and the nature of its magnetic field. Flying at different distances from the Sun, the two spacecraft provide contrasting but complementary perspectives of our star.

The European Space Agency's Solar Orbiter (SolO) probe has moved out of the ecliptic to capture the first high-quality views of the solar poles from within the orbit of Mercury. Nasa's Parker Solar Probe (PSP) approaches closer, using gravitational assists from Venus to direct it actually inside the Sun's corona.