Scientists have obtained the most detailed images to date of the Sun’s surface, allowing previously unseen structures and processes in its outer layer to be observed. AP reports, writes UNN.
Details
The images were taken using the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, located on the island of Maui (Hawaii). They were initially obtained to test the equipment’s capabilities, but the results exceeded the researchers’ expectations.
In the photographs, scientists recorded unusual feather-like patterns formed by the interaction of streams of magnetized plasma moving at different speeds.
It reminds me of famous paintings, such as the swirling sky in Van Gogh’s "The Starry Night"
The discovery will help improve solar storm forecasting
According to the study’s authors, similar phenomena have already been observed on Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn, but this is the first time they have been seen in such detail on the Sun’s surface. The study’s results were published in the journal Nature.
Scientists hope that the new observations will help them better understand processes inside the Sun and more accurately predict coronal mass ejections. When they reach Earth, they can cause solar storms, disrupt GPS and communications systems, and trigger auroras.
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