--- title: "Watch a Solar Snake Move at 380,000 miles per hour Across the Sun's Surface" description: "The Solar Orbiter spacecraft operated by NASA and ESA photographed a bizarre structure crossing our nearby star." author: "Muskan Singh" published: 2022-11-15 updated: 2022-11-15 canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/news/2351/watch-a-solar-snake-move-at-380-000-miles-per-hour-across-the-sun-s-surface category: "space and research" tags: ["technology", "technology news", "space science"] reading_time: 2 minutes --- # Watch a Solar Snake Move at 380,000 miles per hour Across the Sun's Surface Recently, the sun has produced some bizarre looks. From October, NASA displayed a silly solar 'smile,' and [right now](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/36863/what-would-happen-if-gravity-became-5-percent-stronger-right-now), the European [Space Agency](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/32252/cryogenic-engine-for-upper-stage-of-gslv-mk-iii-was-successfully-tested-by-which-space-agency) is highlighting a solar 'snake' observed by the **Solar Orbiter probe.** The solar snake can be seen moving over the surface of the sun in a sinuous streak that begins close to a brilliant point on the star's lower right side.\ The video was time-lapsed on September 5 by the orbiter's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager. **The serpent moved at a dizzying speed of around 170** kilometres per second, covering the solar surface in three hours. All of the gas in the sun's [atmosphere](https://www.mindstick.com/news/2058/robin-wordsworth-re-creates-the-atmosphere-of-ancient-mars) is plasma, a superheated form of matter, due to the sun's intense heat. Here is a [**NASA primer**](https://www.mindstick.com/news/2299/nasa-s-massive-rocket-pulls-up-to-the-launch-pad-for-an-unmanned-moon-mission) on how the invisible [magnetic field](https://www.mindstick.com/news/1622/astronomers-made-a-discovery-of-a-supermassive-black-hole-with-a-flipped-magnetic-field) of the sun interacts with plasma to form the snake. Lines of magnetic field influence plasma. The magnetic field of the sun has a particularly long filament that extends from one side of the sun to the other, which the plasma in the snake is following. The snake is very fascinating from a [scientific](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/story/1571/surprising-scientific-facts-about-girls) standpoint in addition to having beautiful appearance .The snake's origins in a solar active zone that subsequently exploded and ejected billions of tonnes of plasma into space are what make it so fascinating. In collaboration with NASA, ESA is in charge of the Solar Orbiter mission. Early in 2020, the spacecraft was launched to begin a mission to investigate the **unknown polar regions of the sun and gather first-ever photographs of our gloomy star**, like this breathtaking vista of its disc and corona. Scientists will be able to better understand our sun's activity and how it produces [space weather](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/102256/what-is-the-importance-of-space-weather-monitoring) by using data gathered by Solar Orbiter and [**NASA's complementary Parker Solar Probe**](https://www.mindstick.com/news/2342/the-launch-of-nasa-s-artemis-1-moon-mission-is-still-scheduled-on-november-16) mission on the snake and the eruption. Space weather can affect [communications](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/44489/leased-lines-and-other-tools-for-business-communications) and [navigation systems](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/115292/what-role-does-isro-play-in-the-development-of-navigation-systems-like-navic-in-india) on Earth. We can probably all agree that the solar snake is amazing, even if you're not a fan of snakes on our planet. --- Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/news/2351/watch-a-solar-snake-move-at-380-000-miles-per-hour-across-the-sun-s-surface Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.