The IMAGES of a new and powerful telescope installed on top of a volcano in Hawaii show the surface of the sun with the smallest detail so far, revealing features as small as 30 km wide. They were captured by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope of the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is about 10,000 feet above sea level near the summit of the Haleakala volcano in Maui, Hawaii.
The telescope, which has the world’s largest 13-foot sun mirror, could allow for a better understanding of the sun and its impact on our planet, according to the National Solar Observatory, a public research institute based in Boulder, Colorado.
It shows a turbulent, "boiling” gas pattern that covers the sun, which is about 93 million miles from Earth. Within structures similar to visible cells, each the size of the state of Texas in the US. In the US, hot plasma can be seen rising before cooling and sinking beneath the surface in dark lanes, as part of a process called convection. The magnetic field markers are also visible with new clarity, the NSO said.
"This telescope will improve our understanding of what drives space weather and will ultimately help forecasters better predict solar storms,” said France Crdova, director of NSF.
Reference Published on Dawn, January 31, 2020
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1531610/new-telescope-reveals-sun-in-remarkable-detail