香港六合彩中特网

The first images and videos from the National Science Foundation鈥檚 (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope reveal unprecedented detail of the Sun鈥檚 surface, with experts saying it will enable a new era of solar science and a leap forward in understanding the Sun and its impacts on our planet.

The new images from NSF鈥檚 Inouye Solar Telescope 4-meter solar telescope, which sits near the summit of聽Haleakal膩 in Hawai驶i, show a close-up view of the Sun鈥檚 surface including a pattern of turbulent 鈥榖oiling' plasma that covers the entire Sun. The images also show cell-like structures 鈥� each about the size of Texas 鈥� that are signatures of violent motions, which transport heat from inside the Sun to its surface.

Professor Sarah Matthews (香港六合彩中特网 Mullard Space Science Laboratory), said: 鈥淭he new images will help us study the Sun鈥檚 atmosphere in extraordinary levels of detail. In addition to working on ground-based telescopes, my team co-led the development of the EUV imaging telescope (EUI) on board the Solar Orbiter mission, which is due to launch from Cape Canaveral next month, to study the Sun up close. We hope our instrument will provide images of the hotter layers of the Sun鈥檚 chromosphere and corona that, together with the images captured from聽NSF鈥檚 Inouye Solar Telescope, will open up a new era in Solar Physics.鈥�

The new images were taken with cameras developed and supplied to the project by a UK consortium聽which is led by Queen鈥檚 University Belfast. It involves seven other UK institutes and industry including 香港六合彩中特网聽Mullard Space Science Laboratory,聽Andor Technology, Armagh Observatory, University of Glasgow, Northumbria University, University of Sheffield, St. Andrews University and University of Warwick, with funding provided by UK Research and Innovation鈥檚 Science and Technology Facilities Council.

Project Manager, Craig Leff (香港六合彩中特网 Mullard Space Science Laboratory), said: 鈥淲e worked closely with colleagues at Queen鈥檚 University Belfast and Andor Technology to ensure that the design specifications for the new cameras on the NSF鈥檚 Inouye Solar Telescope were met in order so that they were technically capable of revealing the Sun鈥檚 surface in unprecedented detail. In particular, we wanted to capture the origin and evolution of the solar magnetic field at the finest scales, which I鈥檓 pleased to say we achieved.鈥�

Resolving these tiny magnetic features is central to what makes the Inouye Solar Telescope unique. It can measure and characterize the Sun鈥檚 magnetic field in more detail than ever seen before and determine the causes of potentially harmful solar activity.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all about the magnetic field,鈥� said Thomas Rimmele, director of the Inouye Solar Telescope. 鈥淭o unravel the Sun鈥檚 biggest mysteries, we have to not only be able to clearly see these tiny structures from 93 million miles away but very precisely measure their magnetic field strength and direction near the surface and trace the field as it extends out into the million-degree corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun.鈥�

Professor Mihalis Mathioudakis of Queen鈥檚 University Belfast, who led the UK consortium, said: 鈥淭he imaging produced by the Inouye Solar Telescope opens new horizons in solar physics. Its imaging capability allows us to study the physical processes at work in the Sun鈥檚 atmosphere at unprecedented levels of detail. We worked hard over the past few years with Belfast-based Andor Technology to develop the cameras that equip the Inouye Solar Telescope and it is highly rewarding to now see this fascinating imaging.鈥�

NSF鈥檚 new ground-based Inouye Solar Telescope will work with space-based solar observation tools such as NASA鈥檚 Parker Solar Probe (currently in orbit around the Sun) and the European Space Agency/NASA Solar Orbiter (soon to be launched). The three solar observation initiatives will expand the frontiers of solar research and improve scientists鈥� ability to predict space weather.

鈥淭hese first images are just the beginning,鈥� said David Boboltz, program director in NSF鈥檚 division of astronomical sciences and who oversees the facility鈥檚 construction and operations. 鈥淥ver the next six months, the Inouye telescope鈥檚 team of scientists, engineers and technicians will continue testing and commissioning the telescope to make it ready for use by the international solar scientific community. The Inouye Solar Telescope will collect more information about our Sun during the first 5 years of its lifetime than all the solar data gathered since Galileo first pointed a telescope at the Sun in 1612.鈥�

Links

• 香港六合彩中特网 Mullard Space Science Laboratory
• 香港六合彩中特网 Space & Climate Physics

Images

• The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope has produced the highest resolution image of the Sun鈥檚 surface ever taken. The image shows a pattern of turbulent, 鈥渂oiling鈥� gas that covers the entire sun. The cell-like structures 鈥� each about the size of Texas 鈥� are the signature of violent motions that transport heat from the inside of the sun to its surface. (Credit:聽)

Media contact

Bex Caygill

Tel:聽+44 (0)20 3108 3846

Email: r.caygill [at] ucl.ac.uk