The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Solar Orbiter spacecraft has delivered the most detailed images of the sun’s surface to date. These images, taken in March 2023 from a distance of approximately 74 million kilometres, were released on November 20. They provide unprecedented insights into the photosphere, the layer of the sun responsible for emitting visible light. The photos reveal the intricate and dynamic patterns of granules—plasma cells roughly 1,000 kilometres wide—formed by convection as hot plasma rises and cooler plasma sinks.

Sunspot Activity and Magnetic Fields Analysed

The images highlight sunspots as cooler, darker regions on the photosphere, where intense magnetic fields disrupt the movement of plasma. The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) on board the Solar Orbiter produced detailed maps of these magnetic fields, identifying their significant concentration in sunspot regions. According to Daniel Müller, ESA Project Scientist for Solar Orbiter, these observations are essential for understanding the sun’s dynamic processes. The sunspots appear colder because magnetic forces restrict normal convection, causing a decrease in surface temperature.

New Data on Solar Rotation and Winds

A velocity map, known as a tachogram, has also been shared, illustrating the speed and direction of material movement on the sun’s surface. Blue regions represent plasma moving towards the spacecraft, while red areas show plasma moving away, revealing the sun’s rotational dynamics. Additionally, magnetic fields in sunspot regions were seen to disrupt the surface material further.

The sun’s outer atmosphere, the corona, was imaged by the spacecraft’s Extreme Ultraviolet Imager. Plasma loops protruding from the sun, visible in these images, are connected to sunspots and contribute to the solar wind. This solar wind, when reaching Earth, often results in auroral displays.

Future Missions to Study Solar Poles

The Solar Orbiter, launched in 2020 as a joint mission with NASA, aims to capture unprecedented views of the sun’s poles. These observations are scheduled for 2025, when the spacecraft’s orbit will align for a direct perspective. The recent imaging involved the assembly of 25 smaller images, a complex process now expected to accelerate for future releases.

Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter, projected as a top pick in the 2025 NFL draft, says he will be turning pro after the Buffaloes’ season.

Hunter, the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, had been widely expected to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL in 2025. ESPN’s Mel Kiper lists Hunter, who plays both cornerback and wide receiver for Colorado, as the No. 1 prospect for the 2025 draft.

“That’s definitely for sure,” Hunter said on a call with reporters Thursday.

Hunter would like to play both positions at the next level. He has increased his production at wide receiver — setting career highs for receptions (74), receiving yards (911) and receiving touchdowns (9) — while recording three interceptions at corner and regularly logging more than 120 total snaps per game.

“It’s never been done,” Hunter said of playing two positions full time in the modern NFL. “I understand that it will be a high risk, [teams] don’t want their top pick to go down too early and I know they’re going to want me to be in a couple packages. But I believe I can do it. Nobody has stopped me from doing it thus far.

“I like when people tell me I can’t do it.”

Hunter and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders are both top candidates for the Heisman and projected top picks for the 2025 draft. Sanders, the son of Colorado coach Deion Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer, said Hunter should win the Heisman if it’s a choice between the two close friends.

Colorado’s only Heisman Trophy came in 1994, when running back Rashaan Salaam won the award.

“If it’s between me and him, I would want him to get it,” Shedeur Sanders said. “He does a lot of amazing things and things that haven’t been done before. I’m not a selfish guy. I know what he’s capable of, so I would rather him win.”

Hunter said he would be thrilled if Sanders wins the Heisman and hopes Sanders at least gets invited to New York as a finalist for college football’s top individual honor.

“Even if he not invited, he’s invited,” Hunter said.

Kiper projects Sanders as the No. 7 overall prospect and the top quarterback for the 2025 draft. Sanders has completed a career-best 72.9% of his passes this fall for 3,222 yards and 27 touchdowns with seven interceptions. Colorado, which went 4-8 in Deion Sanders’ first season as coach, can reach the Big 12 championship game with wins Saturday at Kansas and next week against Oklahoma State.

“I feel like I was the best quarterback in the last draft, too,” said Shedeur Sanders, referring to April’s draft, where quarterbacks went with the top three picks and five of the first 10. “Ever since I was draft eligible, I knew I’m the best quarterback. It’s not up for me to prove myself to talking about why. … The main thing now is you either see that or you don’t.”

ESPN BET opened its market for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft with Sanders (+200) and Hunter (+300) at the top of the oddsboard. Miami’s Cameron Ward is next closest at +700, with four other quarterbacks (Garrett Nussmeier, Jalen Milroe, Jaxson Dart and Quinn Ewers) occupying the fourth spot on the board at +2000. Hunter is the odds-on favorite to win this season’s Heisman Trophy at -400.

Sanders, who along with Hunter started his college career at FCS Jackson State while playing for Deion Sanders, added that his draft profile and Hunter’s increased once critics were able to “overcome the hate for [Deion Sanders] and overcome the hate for what he’s doing for college football.”

“We came on a bigger stage and where, I guess, people respect football a little bit more and are doing the same thing,” Shedeur Sanders said. “So now it’s like, ‘Oh, these guys were actually players,’ but we’ve been doing everything since day one.”

Five-star quarterback Julian Lewis, the No. 2 recruit in the 2025 ESPN 300, committed to Colorado on Thursday, securing Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes a potentially transformational prospect in the 2025 recruiting class.

Lewis announced his commitment on “The Pat McAfee Show” Thursday, sealing his pledge to Colorado just four days after ESPN’s No. 2 quarterback prospect decommitted from USC on Sunday. Lewis will sign with Colorado when the early signing period opens Dec. 4 and plans to enroll early with the program in January, sources told ESPN.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to get to work and compete,” Lewis told ESPN. “Colorado wasn’t recruiting me until I reclassed, so it really was perfect timing. This is only the beginning. I trust Coach Prime and [offensive coordinator Pat] Shurmur to help me become the player that I want to be.”

The commitment of the coveted quarterback from Carrollton, Georgia, marks a monumental recruiting victory for Colorado and secures the Buffaloes a promising quarterback the final weeks of Sanders’ second season as coach.

Colorado emerged as an immediate front-runner for Lewis on Sunday after the 6-foot-1 passer pulled his long-standing pledge to USC and became the nation’s top uncommitted prospect in the final weeks of the 2025 cycle. Lewis had been linked closely with the Buffaloes since his official visit to the program in June, and mutual interest continued through the fall to Lewis’ return trip to Colorado for its 34-23 win over Cincinnati on Oct. 26.

Georgia, which hosted Lewis for an unofficial visit Nov. 16, stood as another contender. Indiana also remained involved in Lewis’ recruitment following his official visit in May.

With Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders — Deion’s son — bound for the NFL after this season, Lewis will land on campus in 2025 with a clear path toward early playing time with the Buffaloes. And coupled with Colorado’s on-field success this fall, Lewis’ pledge could be just the first domino in a late-cycle recruiting surge as the program continues to target a handful of elite prospects in the final days before the early signing period, including top-100 recruits London Merritt (Ohio State pledge), Michael Carroll (Alabama) and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng (uncommitted). As things stand, Lewis is the top-ranked member of a 2025 Buffaloes class that includes 10 other 2025 commits, all from outside the ESPN 300.

Lewis was the top prospect in the Class of 2026 when he initially committed to USC on Aug. 22, 2023. He later reclassified into the 2025 cycle earlier this year and remained the cornerstone of the Trojans’ ninth-ranked recruiting class up to his decommitment. Shortly after Lewis pulled his pledge, USC secured a commitment from four-star quarterback Husan Longstreet, a former Texas A&M pledge and ESPN’s No. 4 pocket passer in the 2025 class.

After a 4-8 finish last season, Sanders has Colorado tied atop the Big 12 standings at 8-2 with two games remaining in the regular season. And in Lewis, Sanders has his latest recruiting boon.

Lewis represents Sanders’ highest-ranked pledge since he flipped Travis Hunter from Florida State to Jackson State as the No. 2 overall prospect in the Class of 2022. Lewis now follows offensive tackle Jordan Seaton and cornerback Cormani McClain as the highest-rated of the three five-star prospects who have committed to Colorado since Sanders took over in late 2022. When he signs next month, Lewis will mark the Buffaloes’ highest-ranked addition since Colorado landed running back Darrell Scott as the No. 9 overall prospect in the 2008 class.

The Buffaloes climbed to No. 16 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings. Colorado visits Kansas on Saturday and can clinch a place in the Dec. 7 Big 12 championship game with a fifth straight win and losses from Iowa State and Arizona State.