Latest news with #InouyeSolarTelescope
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- 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.
See - Sada Elbalad
25-04-2025
- Science
- See - Sada Elbalad
World's Largest Solar Telescope Captures New Photo for Solar Activity
Rana Atef On Thursday, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) scientists, which is the world's largest telescope for studying solar activity, developed the Visible Tunable Filter (VTF) to study the solar storms. This camera of VTF's addition "will complete its initial arsenal of scientific instruments," according to Carrie Black, director of the National Solar Observatory. Matthias Schubert, project scientist, explained: "The significance of the technological achievement is such that one could easily argue the VTF is the Inouye Solar Telescope's heart, and it is finally beating at its forever place." The first image from the Inouye telescope's Visible Tunable Filter (VTF) camera shows a sunspot cluster many times larger than North America. It shows a major clump of sunspots, dark blobs on the sun's surface caused by its intense magnetic field. read more UAE's Lunar Mission Delayed to Tomorrow Twitter Lifts Trump's Account Ban Scientists Find Evidence Of 10،000 Black Holes Surrounding The Center Of The Milky Way Galaxy Greenhouse In Antarctica Able To Grow Vegetables Without Soil Or Sunlight Moving Over China: U.S. Is Again Home to World's Speediest Supercomputer Technology The 10 most expensive cars in the world Technology Top 10 fastest cars in the world Technology Lasers Could Make Computers 1 Million Times Faster Technology Smart technology taking control of our lives News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Videos & Features Bouchra Dahlab Crowned Miss Arab World 2025 .. Reem Ganzoury Wins Miss Arab Africa Title (VIDEO) Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
The sun as you've NEVER seen it: Scientists reveal the most detailed photo of our home star yet
It's the super-hot, churning ball of plasma whose surface reaches temperatures of 5,500°C (10,000F). Now, scientists have released the most detailed photo of our sun yet – and it gives a close-up glimpse of its intense magnetic energy. The image was captured by the world's most powerful solar telescope, which takes 2D snapshots of the sun at a range of wavelengths. Several hundred images are taken in just a few seconds by three synchronised cameras using different settings – similar to taking a series of photographs using different filters. Combining these images allows for a 3D view of the sun's structures – as seen in this remarkable picture. The newly released image reveals a cluster of sunspots on the Sun's surface, measuring approximately 25,000km by 25,000km. Sunspots - areas of intense magnetic activity - often lead to solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which are what is responsible for our Northern Light displays on Earth. The image achieves a spatial resolution of 10km per pixel – showing the sunspots in unprecedented detail. The Visible Tunable Filter's (VTF) optical device, called an etalon, is pictured here. It consists of two reflecting plates which can measure small differences in the flux of light for different wavelengths The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope was first installed at the National Solar Observatory (NSO) near the summit of Maui's Haleakalā volcano in 2022. It has now achieved 'first light' – used to describe the first time a telescope lens is exposed to the night sky – with its most advanced instrument, the new Visible Tunable Filter (VTF). Designed and built in Germany, the VTF arrived at the observatory last year and has since been carefully installed. It weighs 5.6 tons and has a footprint roughly the size of a small garage, occupying two floors. While it is not yet fully operational, science verification and commissioning are expected to begin in 2026. 'Seeing those first spectral scans was a surreal moment,' said Dr. Stacey Sueoka, Senior Optical Engineer at the observatory. 'This is something no other instrument in the telescope can achieve in the same way. 'It marked the culmination of months of optical alignment, testing, and cross-continental teamwork. Engineers and scientists work on the Visible Tunable Filter (VTF) inside the Coudé Lab at the Inouye Solar Telescope, preparing the instrument for its first light 'We're already seeing the instrument's potential. This is only the beginning, and I'm excited to see what's possible as we complete the system, integrate the second etalon [optical device], and move toward science verification and commissioning.' The team said their new instrument may help reveal hidden details about the solar magnetic field, which is crucial for understanding solar flares and space weather. The sun regularly displays powerful eruptions that hurl particles and radiation into space. On Earth, this solar bombardment can trigger spectacular auroras – Northern Lights - but can also disrupt technical infrastructure and satellites. Carrie Black, NSF program director, said: 'When powerful solar storms hit Earth, they impact critical infrastructure across the globe and in space. 'High-resolution observations of the sun are necessary to improve predictions of such damaging storms.' On our increasingly technological Earth, sudden solar storms can cause devastating damage to critical infrastructure, and disable large portions of the electrical power grid, communications networks, or space systems. This new instrument can analyse crucial properties such as plasma flow velocity, magnetic field strength, pressure and temperature. 'The commissioning of VTF represents a significant technological advance for the Inouye Solar Telescope,' said Matthias Schubert, VTF project scientist. 'The instrument is, so to speak, the heart of the solar telescope, which is now finally beating at its final destination.' Dr. Thomas Kentischer, KIS Co-Principal Investigator and key architect behind the instrument's optical design, said: 'After all these years of work, VTF is a great success for me. 'I hope this instrument will become a powerful tool for scientists to answer outstanding questions on solar physics.' SUN: THE BASICS The sun is the star at the heart of the Solar System, a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, radiating energy. It has a diameter of 1.39 million km, and is 330,000 times the mass of the Earth. Three quarters of the star is made of hydrogen, followed by helium, oxygen, carbon, neon and iron. It is a G-type main sequence star and is sometimes called a yellow dwarf. The Sun formed from the gravitational collapse of matter in a large molecular cloud that gathered in the centre. The rest flattened into an orbiting disc that formed everything else. Facts and Figures Name: Sun Known planets: Eight Spectral type: G2 Distance to Earth: 150 million km Distance from galactic center: 25,800 light-years Mass: 1.9885×10^30 kg Radius: 696,342 km Luminosity: 3.828×10^26 W Temperature: 9,929 F Age: 4.6 billion years
