Scientists using the world’s most powerful solar telescope have captured the surface of our Sun in new, unprecedented detail. The images and footage reveal “whirlpools” of activity that had not been possible to see before, showing how the Sun’s magnetic field is twisted and moved by the motion of hot gas.
That constant swirling is a driving force behind bursts of energy from the Sun, creating so-called space weather that can disrupt Earth’s power grids and satellites, and could even injure astronauts. The findings, published in the journal Nature, were made possible by the Inouye Solar Telescope, a facility built on a high peak in Hawaii, where clear blue skies are free of dust.
“The Sun is the source of that energy and of all of that space weather,” explained Dr David Boboltz from the US National Solar Observatory, external (NSO).
Capturing more detailed pictures of our solar system’s star will help in responding to that weather, he said.
“To figure out and eventually predict space weather, we want to understand the physics of the Sun, all the way down to the smallest scales.”
These are the highest-resolution images of the Sun’s surface, or photosphere, that have ever been captured. Zooming in on the Sun’s surface, the team captured a detailed view of swirling vortices, which the scientists say are the driving force behind sudden blasts of solar plasma and magnetic fields that the Sun sends into space.
NSO astronomer Dr David Kuridze told that the twisting motions are creating magnetic energy that can build up to produce large-scale explosions.
“These twisting motions are creating magnetic energy, which can build up to produce those large-scale explosions.”
What did the scientists discover?
The scientists say they have captured the driving force behind sudden blasts of solar plasma and magnetic fields that the Sun sends into space. The term for what they discovered on the Sun is “Kelvin-Helmholtz instability”.
The phenomenon happens when fluids — in this case hot gases — slide past each other and cause small disturbances to grow into spiralling vortices. In the ocean, it helps explain how ripples become giant, powerful waves.
Dr Friedrich Woeger, also from the NSO, explained that finding it on the Sun’s surface not only explained the dynamics behind space weather, but even why the surface of the Sun is so hot. It shows how energy is transported upwards.
“Once there’s enough energy wound up in the higher layers, it can then be released, as a flare or what’s known as a coronal mass ejection,” he said.
Why does this matter for Earth?
This matters because space weather can affect the systems people rely on on Earth and in orbit. Bursts of solar energy can disrupt power grids and satellites, and the scientists say understanding the Sun in greater detail should improve efforts to predict and respond to those events.
Boboltz said that, as well as the practical need to understand and protect ourselves from space weather, the new findings were a reminder that the Sun is a “unique laboratory”.
“It’s our closest star,” he said. “And it can help us understand some very basic laws of physics.
“The first experimental proof of Einstein’s general relativity came from solar eclipse observations.
“So simply for human knowledge,” he added, “we need to have experiments like this”.
How was the telescope able to see this much detail?
The findings were made possible by the NSF Inouye Solar Telescope, which sits on a high peak above the clouds in Hawaii. Its location offers clear blue skies that are free of dust, helping it capture the most detailed views yet of the Sun’s photosphere.
The telescope’s new images and footage give scientists a closer look at the smallest scales of solar activity, which they hope will improve understanding of the physics of the Sun and the space weather it produces.
Key Facts
- Scientists used the NSF Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii to capture unprecedented detail of the Sun’s surface.
- The images show swirling vortices linked to the Sun’s magnetic field and the release of solar energy.
- The phenomenon is known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.
- The findings were published in the journal Nature.
- Researchers say the work could help improve space weather prediction.
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