Scientists have succeeded in taking the most detailed photos of the sun’s surface ever. The images were made with a new powerful telescope from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which stands on the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii.
The photos show that the sun is covered with a pattern of turbulent boiling gas. According to the researchers, they are cell-like structures, each about the size of the US state of Texas (about twice the size of Germany).
Some details in the photo are so small that in reality they ‘only’ have a cross section of 30 kilometers. And that while the distance between the sun and the earth is almost 150 million kilometers.
You can also see hot plasma that first rises and then cools and sinks below the surface. This creates the dark bands between the ‘cells’. This process is also called convection.
Researchers want to be able to better predict solar storms
The researchers are planning to do much more with the new Daniel K. Inouye solar telescope, which has a mirror with a diameter of four meters.
For example, studying solar activity or space weather can help scientists predict problems on Earth. For example, magnetic bursts on the sun can disrupt satellites, disable GPS, affect air travel, and cause power outages.
“This telescope will help us better understand the causes of solar activity, which will ultimately enable us to better predict solar storms,” said NSF director France Córdova.
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