See the Sun like never before with most detailed images yet
New images and footage of the Sun show "whirlpools" of activity that it has not been possible to see before.
Scientists have unveiled the most detailed images yet of the surface of the Sun, using the world's most powerful solar telescope. These groundbreaking visuals reveal whirlpools of activity on the Sun's surface, previously unseen. The Sun's magnetic field is constantly being twisted and manipulated by the motion of hot gas, a process that is believed to be the driving force behind space weather.
Dr. David Boboltz from the US National Solar Observatory explained that the Sun is the source of both the energy behind space weather and all the effects of space weather on Earth. Understanding the physics of the Sun, down to the smallest scales, is crucial for predicting and responding to space weather, which can disrupt power grids, satellites, and even pose risks to astronauts.
The findings, published in the journal Nature, were made possible by the Inouye Solar Telescope, located on a high peak in Hawaii, where clear skies free of dust enable exceptional observations. The team captured detailed views of swirling vortices, caused by a phenomenon known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which occurs when hot gases slide past each other, creating small disturbances that grow into spiralling vortices.
This discovery not only explains the dynamics behind space weather but also sheds light on why the Sun's surface is so hot. As Dr. Friedrich Woeger from the NSO noted, once enough energy is stored in the Sun's higher layers, it can be released as flares or coronal mass ejections. Boboltz emphasized the importance of the Sun as a unique laboratory for understanding basic laws of physics, with the first experimental proof of Einstein's general relativity coming from solar eclipse observations.
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