Get Up Close to the Sun in the Highest Resolution Image Ever Captured

Scientists have long studied how magnetic energy powers solar activity, with constant motion of plasma particles and the sun's rotation as major contributors. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which send large amounts of plasma and gas into space, occur during solar events. These explosions sometimes enter Earth's magnetic field, causing geomagnetic storms that can lead to brilliant auroras, disrupt communication systems, power grids, GPS, and satellites, and researchers strive to understand solar magnetic energy buildup to better protect against its intense outbursts.

The U.S. National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, located at the National Solar Observatory on Maui, Hawaii, captured the highest-resolution image of the sun ever recorded, revealing unique features that could provide insight into magnetic energy growth. Rippling patterns called Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability (KHI) show two fluids flowing at different speeds, a phenomenon first observed by physicists Kelvin and Helmholtz around 1870.

It can be seen in clouds, ocean waves, and atmospheres of gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn. The Inouye telescope, the most powerful of its kind, captured features smaller than 12 miles across, revealing information not previously visible in previous photos. This may shed light on "flux braiding," a process where sun's magnetic field lines moving around each other create a plaited effect, eventually leading to tension-building and flares or similar events.

The swirling KHI may be related to the formation of these twists. Dr. David Kuridze, a team scientist, told The Guardian that understanding KHI instability could help solve a significant mystery in solar physics and astrophysics, as energy is easily transferred to smaller scales when instability occurs, dissipating as heat and contributing to the sun's hot corona and outer atmosphere.