“New Images of the Sun Revealed by World’s Largest Solar Telescope”

Jakarta –

After more than a year of observations, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope of the National Science Foundation has completed the first cycle of its testing phase. To mark this phase, new images of the Sun have been released.

This image of the Sun captured by Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope focuses on the photosphere, the region commonly referred to as the surface of the Sun. These images show areas of the Sun mostly calm as well as more active.

In quieter areas, we can see details of the photosphere. Hotter plasma appears to rise from the Sun’s interior, creating lighter spots, and the cooler plasma eventually forms a slightly darker streak between each Sun cell.

But if we want to see really dark areas on the Sun’s surface, we need to look for sunspots. The sun is approaching its maximum, which is the moment when its activity peaks during its 11-year cycle.

The number of sunspots goes hand in hand with increased activity, making this time the perfect time to look for them. Researchers don’t even need a telescope like Inouye’s to find some of them.

Quoted from IFL Science, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope is the largest and most powerful in the world. Researchers will get very detailed images with this telescope, which will slowly reveal many secrets.

Sunspots are areas of the photosphere that are slightly cooler by a few thousand degrees or more than the rest of the Sun’s surface. The difference is that the strong magnetic field makes the Sun’s complex magnetic field penetrate the photosphere, creating sunspots.

Sunspots can have north and south poles, just like a regular magnet. The two can also interact with other sunspots. They can be quite complex systems and sometimes the magnetic energy that builds up around them is released in explosive events such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections.

These events can be very dangerous as they change the outer space weather around our planet, affecting satellites, power lines and other modern technological devices.

The released images are only a small part of the scientific research conducted in cycle 1. While the commissioning phase is a way to calibrate and test the instrument.

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(rns/fyk)