The National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope has recently undergone upgrades that have resulted in the capture of stunning new images of the Sun’s surface. These images reveal structures that are as small as 20 kilometers across, resembling radiant ‘curtains’ moving across the solar landscape due to fluctuations in magnetic fields.
Astronomer David Kuridze from the NSO describes the fine-scale structure of the solar surface as being captured with an unprecedented spatial resolution of just about 20 kilometers, which is equivalent to the length of Manhattan Island. These striations are considered to be the fingerprints of fine-scale magnetic field variations.
The research, led by a team from the National Solar Observatory in the US, provides new insights into the surface of the Sun and showcases the optical power of the Inouye telescope. Given that the Sun is approximately 150 million kilometers away from Earth, being able to observe distinctive features with such high resolution is a significant achievement in science and engineering.
The striations observed at the edges of larger solar convection bubbles, known as granules, are caused by the heating and cooling of plasma. The brightness and darkness of these stripes are influenced by the strength of the magnetic field, with slight variations in the fields affecting the properties of the plasma.
The research team conducted simulations to understand the physics behind the phenomenon, finding a match that explains the observations made by the telescope. NSO astronomer Han Uitenbroek highlights the significance of magnetism in the Universe and how the high resolution of the Inouye telescope allows for a better characterization of magnetic fields in a broader astrophysical context.
The complex physics behind the Sun’s surface weather can now be studied in more detail, shedding light on the interactions of heat, magnetism, and movement. This information can also provide insights into similar processes occurring in other parts of the Universe.
With the Inouye telescope only beginning scientific observations in 2022, there is much more to discover. The detailed imagery captured by the telescope will enhance our understanding of phenomena like sunspots and solar eruptions, which can impact Earth.
NSO astronomer David Boboltz emphasizes the vital role of the Inouye telescope in advancing solar research and understanding the small-scale physics that influence space weather events affecting our technological society on Earth. The research findings have been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.
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