NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists have captured images of the sun’s surface with the greatest detail to date, revealing a strange and dynamic facade.
It is dangerous to look directly at the sun without proper eye protection. However, researchers were able to observe its scorching surface with the help of the National Science Foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, located on the island of Maui, in Hawaii.
Scientists originally took the images for a different reason: to adjust and test the limits of the telescope. But upon observing the results, they realized they had photographed the Sun’s bright outer layer at a higher resolution than ever before.
In addition, they observed strange feathery drawings that rippled across the surface.
“That reminds me of famous paintings, like the swirling skies of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night,” said solar physicist Ruizhu Chen of Stanford University, who was not involved in the new research.
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Researchers observed instability ripples on the Sun’s surface caused by fragments of magnetized plasma moving past each other at different speeds, similar to the waves that form when a gust of wind blows over water. This is a well-known phenomenon that governs the movement of fluids.
This has been glimpsed on Earth and on other planets like Jupiter and Saturn, but “it has never been observed at that level on the solar surface,” according to Friedrich Wöger, co-author of the study and researcher at the National Solar Observatory.Related stories.
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The results were published on Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Scientists are curious about the Sun’s inner workings to better track massive energy explosions called coronal mass ejections, which can head toward Earth. When they impact, they can trigger solar storms, which could interfere with GPS communications and produce colorful northern lights.
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