The most detailed images of the surface of the sun

The just-published first photos from the National Science Foundation ( NSF ) Daniel C. Inoue’s solar telescope show unique detail on the surface of the Sun and showcase the amazing test result from this outstanding 4-meter solar telescope. The Inoue Solar Telescope ( DKIST ) at the top of Haleakala Volcano, on the Hawaiian island of Maui, will usher in a new era of solar science and take a step forward in understanding the Sun and its impact on our planet.


_{The image of the solar surface with the highest, to date, resolution}

Activity on the Sun, which is called "space weather", can affect all kinds of systems on Earth. Magnetic "eruptions" in the Sun can negatively affect the operation of air transport, adversely affect satellite communications, lead to the failure of electrical networks, causing prolonged interruptions in electricity, as well as disrupt GPS.

_{Animation of 10-minute events in a small area of ​​the sun}

The first pictures from the Inoue solar telescope show a close-up of the surface of the Sun, which will help scientists to study it in detail in detail. Images show a picture of turbulent “boiling” plasma that covers the entire Sun. Checkered structures - each the size of Texas (or, for example, the Chukotka Autonomous Region in Russia) - are a sign of intense flows that transfer heat from the inside of the Sun to its surface. This hot solar plasma rises in the bright centers of the “cells”, cools, and then plunges beneath the surface in the region of dark bands as a result of a process known as convection. In these dark stripes, we also see tiny, bright dot markers of magnetic fields. Never before seen with such clarity, these bright spots, scientists believe, direct energy to the outer layers of the solar atmosphere,called the crown. These bright spots can be one of the main reasons why the solar corona has a temperature of more than a million degrees.


_{You can see tiny details the size of Manhattan Island (it's smaller than the Central District of Moscow)}

- Since the NSF began work on this ground-based telescope, we have been looking forward to the first images, said France Cordoba, director of NSF, “Now we can share these images of our Sun, which are the most detailed to date. Inoue’s solar telescope will be able to create magnetic field maps in the solar corona, where there are solar “eruptions” that can affect earthly life. This telescope will improve our understanding of what is driven by “space weather,” and ultimately help us better predict solar storms.

Knowledge extension

The sun is our closest star, a giant thermonuclear reactor that burns about 5 million tons of hydrogen fuel every second. It has been doing this for about 5 billion years and will continue for another 4.5 billion years. All this energy is radiated into space in all directions, and the tiny part that hits the Earth makes our life possible. In the 1950s, scientists found that the solar wind blows from the sun to the edges of the solar system. They also first concluded that we live in the atmosphere of this star. But many of the most important processes on the Sun continue to confuse scientists.

“On Earth, we can very accurately predict whether it will rain somewhere in the world, and the era of“ space weather ”has not yet arrived,” said Matt Mountain, president of the Association of Universities for the Study of Astronomy, which controls the Inoue solar telescope, “Our space forecasts are 50 years behind the earth, if not more. We need to understand the physics behind “space weather,” and it starts on the Sun, which will be studied by the Inoue solar telescope over the next decades.

The movements of the solar plasma constantly twist and confuse the solar magnetic fields. Twisted magnetic fields can lead to solar storms that can adversely affect our technologically dependent modern lifestyle. During Hurricane Irma in 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that a one-time event in “space weather” had disconnected the radio communications used by the primary response services, air and sea channels, for eight hours on the day that the hurricane crashed ashore.

Finally, image resolution of these tiny magnetic elements is fundamental, making Inoue’s solar telescope unique. It can measure and characterize the magnetic field of the Sun in more detail than ever before, and determine the causes of potentially harmful solar activity.

“It's all about the magnetic field,” said Thomas Rimmele, director of Inoue’s solar telescope. “To solve the biggest mysteries of the Sun, we must not only clearly see these tiny structures at a distance of 93 million miles (almost 150 million kilometers), but very accurately measure the strength of their magnetic field, direction near the surface, and also track the field that extends to the corona - the outer atmosphere of the Sun.

A better understanding of the causes of potential disasters will enable governments and utilities to better prepare for the inevitable future events dependent on “space weather”. Notification of potential impacts is expected to be received 48 hours before the event instead of the current standard, which is about 48 minutes. This will give more time to ensure the safety of power grids and critical infrastructure, as well as to put satellites in safe mode.

Engineering

To achieve the results obtained, this telescope required many new important approaches to its design and construction. Built by the National Solar Observatory and managed by the Association of Universities for Astronomy Research ( AURA ), Inoue’s solar telescope combines the 13-foot (4-meter) mirror - the largest in the world for a solar telescope - with unprecedented viewing conditions on top of the Haleakal volcano, at an altitude of 10,000 feet (over 3,000 meters).


_{Haleakala Observatory - Ekrem Kanli}

Focusing 13 kilowatts of solar energy generates a tremendous amount of heat that needs to be retained or removed. A specialized cooling system provides the necessary thermal protection for the telescope and its optics. More than seven miles of pipelines distribute coolant throughout the observatory, partially chilled with ice created on-site at night.


_{Daniel C. Inoue Solar Telescope}

The dome covering the telescope is covered with thin cooling plates that stabilize the temperature around the telescope, which is facilitated by the blinds inside the dome, providing shade and air circulation. A “heat stopper” (a high-tech, water-cooled donut-shaped metal) blocks most of the solar energy from the main mirror, allowing scientists to study specific areas of the sun with unprecedented clarity.

The telescope also uses modern adaptive optics to compensate for distortions created by the Earth’s atmosphere. The design of the optics (“off-axis” placement of mirrors) reduces bright scattered light for better visibility and is complemented by an ultramodern system for accurately focusing the telescope and eliminating distortions created by the Earth’s atmosphere. This system, used to study the Sun, is the most advanced to date.

“With the largest aperture among solar telescopes, a unique design and modern instruments, the Inoue solar telescope will be able to perform the most complex measurements of various indicators of the Sun for the first time,” said Rimmele, “After more than 20 years of work by a large team designing and constructing a leading solar observatory research, we are close to the finish line. I am very excited that I can observe with this incredible telescope the first sunspots of the new solar cycle that have just appeared.

A new era of solar astronomy

Inoue’s new ground-based solar telescope will work with spaceborne solar observation instruments such as Solar Probe ( Parker ) - NASA (currently in orbit around the Sun) and Solar Orbiter ( SolO ) - ESA / NASA (will be launched soon). These three solar energy monitoring projects will expand the scope of its research and improve the ability of scientists to predict "space weather."

“This is an exciting time for a solar physicist,” said Valentin Pillet, director of the NSF National Solar Observatory, “Inoue’s Solar Telescope will provide remote sensing of the outer layers of the Sun and the magnetic processes that occur in them. These processes extend to the solar system, where the Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions will measure their effects. In general, they are truly multifunctional tools to understand how stars and their planets are magnetically connected.

“These first shots are just the beginning,” said David Bobolz, program director at the NSF Department of Astronomical Sciences, who oversees the construction and operation of the facility, “Over the next six months, a team of scientists, engineers and technicians from the Inoue telescope will continue to test and put it into operation to prepare the telescope for use by the international scientific community on solar energy. The Inoue Solar Telescope will collect more information about our Sun during the first 5 years of its existence than all the solar data collected since Galileo first sent his telescope to the Sun in 1612.


_{In this shot, taken at a wavelength of 789 nanometers (nm), for the first time we see objects measuring only 18 miles (30 km) per pixel.}

Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/undefined/