Plasma waves spotted on sun’s surface for the first time
Astronomers using the Inouye Solar Telescope have captured the highest-resolution images of the Sun's photosphere, revealing plasma vortices as small as 12 miles wide. These findings, published in Nature, provide new insights into the convection currents and magnetic fields that shape the Sun's surface.
Why it matters
Understanding solar surface dynamics is essential for predicting space weather and understanding the fundamental physics of stars.
The highest-resolution image of the Sun's surface (photosphere) ever captured, taken at 416 nanometers by the Inouye Solar Telescope. At the edges of the solar granules, the image reveals fringed-looking structures that display swirling motions. Key takeaways Powered by Yahoo Scout. Yahoo is using AI to generate key points from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. The Inouye Solar Telescope captured the highest-resolution image of the Sun's surface ever taken, revealing swirling motions at the edges of solar granules. Astronomers used the world’s largest solar telescope to glimpse the sun’s roiling surface in unprecedented detail, with some vortices barely 12 miles wide. The study published in Nature details the discovery of plasma vortices on the sun's surface, shedding light on the dynamic environment shaped by convection currents and magnetic fields.
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