Latest news with #InouyeSolarTelescope
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Stunning 'Solar Curtains' Phenomenon Revealed on The Sun in New Images
Upgrades to the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope have delivered stunning new images of the Sun's surface containing structures a mere 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) across. The radiant 'curtains' are only about as thick as Manhattan is long, driven across the solar landscape by fluctuations in magnetic fields that emerge from within the broiling plasma that surrounds the Sun. "In this work, we investigate the fine-scale structure of the solar surface for the first time with an unprecedented spatial resolution of just about 20 kilometers, or the length of Manhattan Island," says astronomer David Kuridze, from the NSO. "These striations are the fingerprints of fine-scale magnetic field variations." The new research, led by a team from the National Solar Observatory (NSO) in the US, gives us fresh insight into what's happening on the surface of the Sun, as well as once again demonstrating the optical power of the Inouye telescope. Let's not forget that the Sun is around 150 million kilometers away from Earth, so being able to spot distinctive features at this kind of resolution is a triumph of science and engineering. The striations appear at the edges of larger solar convection bubbles (or granules) previously observed by Inouye, caused by the heating and cooling of plasma. The brightness and darkness of the stripes is controlled by the strength of the magnetic field, and very slight variations in these fields can shift the properties of the plasma. When the field is weaker than its surroundings, the curtains dim with respect to its glowing background. The research team followed its observations with simulations of the physics of the phenomenon, finding a match that explained what the telescope was showing – although this wasn't something the astronomers had expected to see. "Magnetism is a fundamental phenomenon in the Universe, and similar magnetically induced stripes have also been observed in more distant astrophysical objects, such as molecular clouds," says NSO astronomer Han Uitenbroek. "Inouye's high resolution, in combination with simulations, allows us to better characterize the behavior of magnetic fields in a broad astrophysical context." There's a lot of incredibly complex physics behind the Sun's surface weather, and being able to view it in more detail will reveal the interactions of heat, magnetism, and movement – and how they might be playing out elsewhere in the Universe. And there's going to be plenty more to come from the Inouye telescope, which only started making scientific observations in earnest in 2022. The information we've already gleaned from its imagery will help us better understand events like sunspots and solar eruptions, which can have repercussions on Earth. "This is just one of many firsts for the Inouye, demonstrating how it continues to push the frontier of solar research," says NSO astronomer David Boboltz. "It also underscores Inouye's vital role in understanding the small-scale physics that drive space weather events that impact our increasingly technological society here on Earth." The research has been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The Sun's Fury Is Making SpaceX Satellites Plummet From The Sky Astronomers Just Discovered The Biggest Explosions Since The Big Bang Titan's Atmosphere 'Wobbles Like a Gyroscope' – And No One Knows Why
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Powerful solar telescope unveils ultra-fine magnetic 'curtains' on the sun's surface
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, located on the summit of Haleakalā on the island of Maui, Hawaii, captured the sharpest-ever images of the sun's surface. The images show ultra-fine bright and dark stripes (called striations) in the thin, gaseous layer of the sun's atmosphere known as the photosphere, according to a statement from the National Solar Observatory (NSO), which operates the solar telescope. "In this work, we investigate the fine-scale structure of the solar surface for the first time with an unprecedented spatial resolution of just about 20 kilometers [12.4 miles], or the length of Manhattan Island," David Kuridze, lead author of the study and a NSO scientists, said in the statement. "These striations are the fingerprints of fine-scale magnetic field variations." The striations appear as alternating bright and dark stripes along the walls of solar granules — the convection cells that transport heat from the sun's interior to its surface. These patterns result from curtain-like magnetic fields that ripple and shift like fabric fluttering in the wind. As light from the hot granule walls passes through these magnetic "curtains," variations in the magnetic field strength cause changes in brightness, effectively tracing the underlying magnetic structures. If the magnetic field is weaker than in its surroundings, it appears darker; if stronger, it glows brighter. Therefore, the striations are believed to be signatures of subtle yet powerful magnetic fluctuations, which alter the density and opacity of the solar plasma. These slight shifts are only detectable thanks to the telescope's Visible Broadband Imager (VBI), which operates in the G-band — a specific range of visible light that highlights areas with strong magnetic activity. Related Stories: — The sun's magnetic field will flip soon. Here's what to expect — How the Sun's Magnetic Field Works — Magnetic fields appear to be as old as the universe itself. What created them? Unraveling the sun's magnetic architecture is key to understanding phenomena like solar flares, eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which drive space weather and can impact Earth. The team's findings were published May 20 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Gizmodo
04-06-2025
- Climate
- Gizmodo
Sharpest View of the Sun Reveals Magnetic Stripes the Size of Manhattan
Scientists used the world's largest solar telescope to capture incredibly detailed images of the Sun's surface, revealing ultra-fine magnetic stripes rippling across the star and magnetic fields that resemble fluttering curtains, which modify light. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope stands tall at 13 feet (4 meters) atop a volcano in Maui, Hawaii, staring at our host star with great intensity. Using the telescope's unique capabilities, a team led by scientists from the National Science Foundation (NSF) observed ultra-narrow bright and dark stripes on the solar photosphere at an unprecedented level of detail. The recent observations, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, offer new insight into how the Sun's magnetic fields shape the dynamics at its surface and affects space weather. The stripes, called striations, ripple across the walls of solar granules—convection cells in the Sun's photosphere where hot gas rises from inside the star to reach the surface. They're around 12 miles wide (20 kilometers), roughly the length of Manhattan, which is tiny compared to the monstrous size of the Sun. The striations are the result of curtain-like sheets of magnetic fields that ripple and shift across the surface of the Sun. As light from the granule walls passes through these fields, it appears to flutter and alternate between brightness and darkness. This variation is an indication of the underlying magnetic field, which appears dark when it's weaker and bright when it's relatively stronger. 'These striations are the fingerprints of fine-scale magnetic field variations,' David Kuridze, a scientist at the National Solar Observatory and the study's lead author, said in a statement. The team behind the study used the Inouye telescope's Visible Broadband Imager instrument, which operates in a specific range of visible light, called the G-band, that highlights areas with strong magnetic activity. Scientists then compared the telescope's images with simulations that recreate the physics of the Sun's surface, finding them to be in agreement. 'Magnetism is a fundamental phenomenon in the universe, and similar magnetically induced stripes have also been observed in more distant astrophysical objects, such as molecular clouds,' Han Uitenbroek, NSO scientist and co-author of the study, said in a statement. 'Inouye's high resolution, in combination with simulations, allows us to better characterize the behavior of magnetic fields in a broad astrophysical context.' Located approximately 93 million miles (149 million kilometers) from Earth, the Sun has been holding our solar system together with its gravity for nearly five billion years, and yet there is still so much we don't know about our host star. By studying the magnetic architecture of the solar surface, scientists are hoping to understand the physics behind solar eruptions, flares, and coronal mass ejections so that they can better predict space weather. The Sun is currently at solar maximum, a period of heightened activity in its 11-year cycle which is marked by intense flareups that can sometimes be directed toward Earth. On May 10, 2024, a G5 magnetic storm—classified as extreme—hit Earth as a result of large expulsions of plasma from the Sun's corona. The G5 storm, the largest in more than 20 years, caused some deleterious effects on Earth's power grid and some spectacular auroras seen across much of the globe. The storm also increased atmospheric density in low Earth orbit by up to an order of magnitude, which in turn caused atmospheric drag that affected satellites.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
World's largest solar telescope gains powerful new 'eye' to study the sun's secrets
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The world's largest solar telescope has gained a powerful new "eye" that promises deeper views into the workings of our sun than ever before, scientists announced on Thursday (April 24). The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, which eyes the sun from its perch atop a mountain on the Hawaiian island of Maui, has been sending home stunningly detailed views of the surface of our star. The observatory, which is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, is designed to scrutinize the solar atmosphere and the sun's magnetic field for tiny features that might reveal answers to some of the fundamental solar mysteries. The telescope's already-sharp vision has now been boosted significantly thanks to a new instrument designed to maximize the information gleaned from the sun's light, scientists said on Thursday. "The instrument is, so to speak, the heart of the solar telescope, which is now finally beating at its final destination," Matthias Schubert, who is the project scientist for the instrument at the Institute for Solar Physics in Germany, said in a statement. The instrument, known as the Visible Tunable Filtergraph, or VTF, is the fifth and most powerful instrument to be added to the Inouye Solar Telescope. It is designed to study the regions of the sun where eruptions ignite — the visible surface, or photosphere, and the invisible layer above, known as chromosphere — with the highest level of precision of any solar observatory. The newly-installed VTF recently looked at the sun for the first time and, even in its ongoing technical test phase, is already delivering on its promise to resolve and image very fine details on the sun, scientists say. The image above features a sunspot on the sun's surface spanning a whopping 241 million square miles (625 million square kilometers), yet each pixel covers 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) on the sun's surface, according to the statement. Sophisticated computer processing during forthcoming science operations from VTF will sharpen the images even more and resolve even smaller structures on the sun, scientists say. Researchers at the Institute for Solar Physics in Germany have been developing VTF for the past 15 years, nearly the same duration as the Inouye Solar Telescope's own development. What makes the instrument so special is its ability to analyze sunlight in exceptional detail. VTF hosts two devices called interferometers that dissect sunlight into its fundamental components. Functioning as a sophisticated color and polarization filter, they select narrow slices of the sun's light spectrum to create hundreds of sharp images per second. The collected data helps scientists unravel the complex interplay between the hot plasma and magnetic fields that drive solar eruptions, according to the statement. RELATED STORIES: — See amazing new sun photos from the world's largest solar telescope — The largest solar telescope on Earth snaps the most detailed image of a sunspot we've ever seen — The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope: Getting a close-up look at our sun "VTF enables images of unprecedented quality and thus heralds a new era in ground-based solar observation," Sami Solanki, director of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany, which is a partner in the project, said in the statement. The Inouye Solar Telescope is designed to operate for 44 years, which should cover four of the sun's roughly 11-year solar cycles. And in that time, its suite of instruments will likely change. "The real power in the Inouye Solar Telescope is its flexibility, its upgradability," David Boboltz, the associate director for the Daniel Inouye Solar Telescope, previously said. "It's like having a Swiss Army Knife to study the sun."
NDTV
04-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
World's Largest Solar Telescope Captures Stunning Details Of Sun's Surface
The world's biggest solar telescope has captured the stunning details of the Sun's surface, showing sunspots and intense magnetic activity. The newly released image comes as the Sun moves towards its most active phase of its 11-year solar cycle. The image was released by Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii. It is the first image captured with the US National Science Foundation's new Visible Tunable Filter (VTF). The high-resolution photograph, taken in early December, shows a collection of enormous sunspots only 10 kilometres apart in size but spanning thousands of miles. The image showed sunspots, each about the size of a continent on Earth. Scientists from the International Solar Cycle Prediction Panel, NASA, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in October that the sun reached the solar maximum or peak of activity. The sun's magnetic poles reverse during the peak, causing more sunspots to show up on its surface. These sunspots are cooler, active areas on the Sun that can cause big solar explosions like solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). When these solar outbursts take place, they shoot out charged particles into space, and if these particles reach Earth, they can disrupt satellites, cause power outages or affect GPS and phone signals. Friedrich Woeger, the instrument program scientist at the NSF Inouye Solar Telescope, said, "A solar storm in the 1800s (the Carrington Event) reportedly was so energetic that it caused fires in telegraph stations. We need to understand the physical drivers of these phenomena and how they can affect our technology and ultimately our lives." Mark Miesch, a research scientist at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, said that sunspots were like magnetic plugs blocking some of the heat coming up to the surface. That's the reason they look darker and are cooler than the rest of the Sun's surface, he added. He compared these sunspots to an oven. "Even though these sunspots are cooler, they are still hotter than any oven on Earth," he added.
