February 11th, 2020 • 8 mins 29 secs • Download (7.78 MB) • Link with Timestamp
You’re looking at the highest resolution image that has ever been taken of our Sun, using the brand new Daniel K Inouye Solar Telescope in Maui.
These lighter regions are convection cells, blobs of hot gas the size of Texas which have carried heat from deep below the surface of the Sun, releasing it into space. The darker lines are cooler regions, where the material is sinking back down into Sun.
This image is just a demonstration of the incredible power of this 4-meter observatory, which will join NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA’s Solar Orbiter in ushering in the golden age of solar astronomy.