Solar Orbiter is on its way to the sun, and while passing Venus turned its Heliospheric Imager (SoloHI) telescope to capture a gleaming view of the planet. This was Solar Orbiter's second Venus flyby, with an Earth flyby in November 2021 and six more Venus flybys planned from 2022 to 2030. From this vantage point, Solar Orbiter will eventually capture the first images of the sun's north and south poles. Solar Orbiter has been acquiring data near-constantly since launch in February 2020 with its four instruments that measure the environment around the spacecraft itself. Solar Orbiter and BepiColombo both have one more flyby of Venus this year.

Source: Daily Mail August 13, 2021 11:15 UTC