Inouye Solar Telescope Captures Unprecedented Detail of Sun's Surface

The Inouye Solar Telescope, equipped with a four-meter primary mirror and a specialized cooling system, has captured an image of the Sun's surface with unprecedented detail. The image, taken at a wavelength of 789 nm, reveals features as small as 30 km in size. The image covers a square area of 36,500 km per side, achieving a resolution never before seen. A corresponding video spans 19,000 x 10,700 km, illustrating the Sun's turbulent activity. Visible are convective cells, approximately 1000 km in diameter, driven by violent plasma motions that transport energy from the Sun's interior to its surface. Hot plasma rises at the center of these cells (granules), cools, expands, and then descends towards the edges, appearing less luminous due to the lower temperature.