Speaker
Description
First Name: Kinga
Last Name: Albert
Email Address: albert@mps.mpg.de
Affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
All Authors: Kinga Albert, Johann Hirzberger, Gherardo Valori, Daniele Calchetti, L. P. Chitta, L. R. Bellot Rubio, J. Blanco Rodríguez, D. Orozco Suárez, S.k. Solanki and the PHI team
Abstract: In March 2025, we gained a new and exciting viewing angle of the Sun’s polar regions as Solar Orbiter left the ecliptic plane. Currently, it can observe the poles at up to 17◦ solar latitude compared to the maximum 7◦ view-angle from Earth. In this configuration, on March 21 and 22, we observed the South pole with the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (SO/PHI), acquiring high cadence data for more than 14.5 hours. The campaign was supported by observations from the Extreme-Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) and the Spectral Imaging of the Coronal Environment (SPICE) instruments. Polar magnetic fields are crucial in refining our understanding of many solar processes and their relation with the heliosphere. With this unprecedented data set, we have a unique opportunity to study the small-scale dynamics that gradually contribute to the long-term build-up of the polar magnetic cap. We analyse data from the High Resolution Telescope of SO/PHI, identifying large magnetic concentrations associated with the developing polarity at the south pole. Using co-observations from the High-Resolution Imager of EUI, we apply a segmentation approach to identify the photospheric regions to which these concentrations are magnetically connected. With this information, we investigate the temporal evolution of the photospheric magnetic field: we track the changes of the concentrations that build up the polarity of the cap and their interactions with the surrounding fields, uncovering processes of flux emergence and cancellation driven by dynamics in the upper atmosphere.