National Science Foundation, NSF’s newest Daniel K Inouye solar telescope (DKIST) has captured what seems to be the first detailed image of the surface of the sun, revealing exhilarating details. The 4m mirror DKIST is the largest solar telescope and is positioned at the top of a 3,000m high volcano in Maui, Hawaii. The image shows caramelized cell-like shapes, the size of the U.S state of Texas. The plasma which covers the sun shows bright centres where the heat emits from.
Director, NSF, France Cordova said "Since NSF began work on this ground-based telescope, we have eagerly awaited the first images."
"We can now share these images and videos, which are the most detailed of our Sun to date. NSF's Inouye Solar Telescope will be able to map the magnetic fields within the Sun's corona, where solar eruptions occur that can impact life on Earth. This telescope will improve our understanding of what drives space weather and ultimately help forecasters better predict solar storms," Cordova added.
While speaking on the feat, Matt Mountain, president of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy said colossal emissions of particles possessing magnetic properties have damaged satellites on Earth, harming astronauts, disrupting communication. This he said will aid in predicting energetic outbursts ‘space weather’.
"On Earth, we can predict if it is going to rain pretty much anywhere in the world very accurately, and space weather just isn't there yet."
"Our predictions lag behind terrestrial weather by 50 years, if not more. What we need is to grasp the underlying physics behind space weather, and this starts at the Sun, which is what the Inouye Solar Telescope will study over the next decades."
(BBC)
