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| 'Boiling' plasma that covers the Sun is seen in the highest-ever resolution images of the star, taken by the new Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (AFP Photo/HO) |
Washington (AFP) - A huge telescope built on the peak of a Hawaiian island has produced pictures of the Sun's surface in unprecedented detail, revealing boiling plasma cells the size of Texas.
For the
telescope's director, that's only just the beginning.
The Sun is
a giant ball of plasma (electrified gas) that has been observed from Earth for
centuries from telescopes, and via satellites for decades.
But the
resolution has been limited: the Japanese space telescope Hinotori had a mirror
of 20 inches (50 centimeters).
The new
Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on the island of Maui has a 13-foot (four
meters) mirror, the world's largest for a solar telescope.
"These
images have the highest resolution that you've ever seen," said Thomas
Rimmele, the telescope's director.
"We
now see structures that we suspected would be there, based on computer models,
but we never had the resolution to really see them," added the 60-year-old
German astronomer.
Images
first published Wednesday show a pattern of boiling plasma covering the Sun in
cell-like structures. These are the result of violent motions transporting heat
from the star's interior to its surface.
The hot
plasma rises in the bright center of the cells, cools and then sinks below the
surface in a process called convection.
The
telescope came online on December 10 after nine years of construction.
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Hot plasma
rises in the bright center of the cells, cools and then sinks below the
surface
in a process called convection (AFP Photo/HO)
|
"It
was a really emotional moment, I was really happy," said Rimmele, who
joined the project 25 years ago before eventually becoming its director.
"It's my life's work."
Since the
telescope focuses sunlight over a small area, it produces an enormous amount of
heat.
"It
gets really hot there, you can put metal there and it melts within a very short
time," said Rimmele.
Corona
and sunspots
It will
take six more months to install additional scientific instruments and make the
telescope fully operational.
Ultimately,
the goal is to measure the magnetic fields in the Sun's atmosphere, and in
particular in its corona, its outermost area that can be distinguished during
an eclipse.
The
magnetic fields govern solar flares that can affect air travel, disrupt
satellite communications as well as bring down power grids and disable GPS, a
relatively common event.
Mapping the
Sun will thus help scientists deepen their understanding of these magnetic
fields that regulate space weather, allowing us to anticipate storms and turn
off sensitive equipment ahead of time.
The
telescope has launched at an exciting time for astronomers: the Sun is about to
enter a new 11-year cycle, in which it will start to produce new sunspots.
It is
currently at the low ebb of its cycle and no spots are visible.
"That
is the goal, to publish a close up image, highest resolution image ever of a
sunspot," said Rimmele.
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