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The Sun is a hot, turbulent ball of gas. That much we already know. But now, we have photo evidence to prove just how hot and churning the surface of the star is. The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) has just captured the highest resolution image of the Sun to date.
In this revolutionary image we can see granular structures that look like nuggets of gold (which are actually the size of France). They're actually columns of super hot plasma (10,800 F) with the bright spots at the center of each grain the epicenter of the Sun's violent release of it's gooey hot insides. As this plasma cools, it descends back below the surface via narrow channels between neighboring gold chunks, or granules.
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The DKIST is the world's largest telescope, with a 4 meter wide aperture. Located on the top of a volcano in Hawaii, the telescope is so powerful that it can see features on the Sun up to 10 miles. DKIST can see the Sun in visible to near infrared wavelengths, meaning that it can probe the Sun's magnetic field and study the activities that create space weather on Earth.
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The completion of the DKIST telescope in 2020 starts the beginning of a 50 year study of the Sun. Particles from the sun have the potential to interfere with satellites, power grids and communication infrastructure on Earth. This study also hopes to shed light on the mystery of why the Sun's corona (outer layer) is hotter than it's visible surface. We can expect many more groundbreaking images and findings from the DKIST.
Here's The First Detailed Image Of The Sun's Surface
The world's largest solar telescope has just taken the most detailed image of the Sun's surface we've ever seen.
Interested in other space stories? Read about the space hotel NASA wants to build for the rich.
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