A new telescope built explicitly to study the Sun, the Daniel K. Inouye 4-meter solar telescope of the National Science Foundation (DKIST), has submitted its first images. They are impressive. In them we can contemplate the surface of the Sun as we have never seen before, revealing details of convection granules the size of Spain (or more), which resemble cells and which make up the record of movements that transport heat from the interior of the Sun to its surface. There is no doubt that this telescope ushers in a new era in solar science and a leap forward in understanding the sun and its impact on our planet.
The surface of our Sun is an incredibly violent place and we can now observe it in great detail, thanks to the first images from this Hawaii-based telescope that, curiously, has not yet finished construction but that has not stopped researchers from doing so. they pointed at the sun to see if it was working . The results have been more than applauded to see the hot plasma churning strongly in the Sun.
Images never seen
The first images and videos show unprecedented features on the sun’s surface : illuminating areas as small as 30 kilometers in diameter, or about three times smaller than any object seen so far. And is that despite being the closest star to Earth, the Sun remains a mystery. Fortunately, one of the main goals of the Inouye Solar Telescope is to image the Sun’s magnetic field in more detail than ever before.
Covering an area of 36,500 kilometers in diameter, roughly three times the diameter of Earth, the images show us bubbles of plasma seeping from the depths of the star, tiny magnetic structures in incredible detail. The gas, because of the heat, expands and descends under the surface of the dark lines in a process known as convection. Each bubble is larger than that of countries like Spain or the state of Texas.
When the telescope is finished …
The world’s largest solar telescope has captured its first image of the sun, the highest resolution image of our star to date. And it’s not finished yet.
The unique resolution and sensitivity of this telescope will allow you to probe the sun’s magnetic field for the first time while studying the activities that drive space weather in Earth’s neighborhood. It will also delve into one of the most famous solar mysteries: why the sun’s corona, or outer layer, is hotter than its visible surface.
“These are the highest resolution images and films of the solar surface ever taken,” Inouye director Thomas Rimmele said during a news conference. “So far, we have just seen the tip of the iceberg.”
Observing the sun is not an easy task
The main mirror focuses 13 kilowatts of power, generating an incredible amount of heat. For this reason, there is a continuous cooling system that protects the instruments and makes the observatory accessible to researchers. Hence, this telescope has been in development for more than 20 years.
“The Inouye Solar Telescope will collect more information about our Sun during the first 5 years of its useful life that it will compare with all the solar data collected since Galileo first pointed a telescope at the Sun in 1612,” said David Boboltz, director of the program. in the NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences which oversees the construction and operations of the facilities.
The telescope will be completed in June 2020.
Referencia: National Science Foundation
