New images of the sun’s surface captured by a powerful ground-based solar telescope have revealed sunspots and other features in unprecedented detail.
The eight images, published on May 19, were taken with the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope of the National Science Foundation, a 4-meter (13.1 ft) telescope located on the island of Maui in Hawaii. Although the sun becomes increasingly active as it approaches the July 2025 solar maximum, the peak of the 11-year solar cycle, the photos show the calmer aspects of the sun’s surface.
solar images
Cool, dark sunspots dot the photosphere, or the sun’s surface where the magnetic field is strong, and can be the size of Earth or larger. Sunspot clusters are the cause of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, when plasma and part of the magnetic field break off from the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, and flow through the solar system.
These energetic bursts from the sun can affect communications based on Earth satellites.
Study
The sunspot regions shown in the images are a study in contrast. Hot, bright plasma flows up on the sun’s surface, while cooler, darker plasma flows down. In the chromosphere, the atmospheric layer on the surface, threadlike structures reveal the presence of magnetic fields.
Fine, detailed structures, including bright spots that exist where the magnetic field is strongest, can be seen in dark sunspots. Bright strands derived from the magnetic field called penumbral filaments, which carry heat, surround the sunspot.
Other images
Another image shows a sunspot that has lost most of its brighter surrounding region, or penumbra, that seems to be decaying. The researchers believe that the remaining fragments could be the end point in the evolution of a sunspot, before it disappears.
The Inouye Solar Telescope also glimpsed “bridges of light” Bright solar features spanning the darker region of a sunspot. These complex structures may differ in appearance, but scientists believe the light bridges could indicate that a sunspot is about to decay. Future observations could provide more insight into the formation of light bridges and their significance.
Images 2022
The images taken over the past year are among some of the first observations using the world’s largest and most powerful ground-based solar telescope during its commissioning phase, according to the National Science Foundation. The telescope is currently being brought to full operational capacity, according to the agency.
Scientists hope the telescope’s capabilities will allow them to answer key questions about the sun, including the origin of solar storms, as well as unlocking the intricacies of your magnetic field.
The telescope was designed to make continuous measurements of magnetic fields in the sun’s corona and provide images of the solar atmosphere like never before. Compared to the imaging capabilities of other observatories, Inouye can capture solar features three times smaller.