An international team of scientists has taken the highest-resolution images ever recorded of the Sun's visible surface, revealing for the first time tiny vortices in the photosphere. The discovery, published in the journal Nature, could change the way scientists understand solar activity and its impact on Earth.
The observations were made with the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii, the most powerful solar telescope in the world. Combining the images with advanced computer simulations, the researchers analyzed a magnetically active region near a sunspot.
The images revealed tiny vortex structures along the grain boundaries covering the Sun's surface. The resolution achieved is so high that it is comparable to the ability to distinguish a one-euro coin from a distance of about 180 kilometers.
According to the study authors, these vortices are created by a phenomenon known as the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, which occurs when two fluid streams move past each other at different speeds. This is the first time this phenomenon has been confirmed on the surface of the Sun.
Scientists believe the discovery could help explain how the Sun's outer atmosphere heats up and how the magnetic energy that fuels solar flares is collected and transported. These explosions can affect the operation of satellites, power grids and communication systems on Earth.
The US National Science Foundation's National Solar Observatory called this a "revolutionary discovery" in solar physics, which could open a new chapter in the study of the mechanisms that drive our star's activity.
