According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on August 5th, astronomers have recently captured the clearest image of the solar surface to date, revealing spiral structures on the surface of the sun. This research was published in the journal 'Nature' on August 5th.
Researchers at the National Solar Observatory of the United States used the Inuye Solar Telescope in Hawaii to observe the surface of the Sun, capturing clear images of the solar surface. They discovered that there are continuously rotating vortex-like structures on the Sun’s surface, which drive solar energy releases. These structures can cause space weather that may disrupt the Earth’s electrical grids and satellites.
The BBC states that this phenomenon observed by astronomers is known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. When two fluids with different speeds meet, small disturbances gradually develop into vortices. In the ocean, this phenomenon helps explain how ripples can evolve into powerful waves.
"The sun's surface vortex motion is generating magnetic energy, and if this energy accumulates, it may cause a large-scale eruption," said Dr. Davy Curieze, an astrophysicist from the National Space Observatory (NSO), to BBC.
Solar surface images captured by NSO
NASA expert Friedrich Woerner believes that finding this phenomenon on the sun's surface can not only shed light on the dynamics of space weather but also explain the solar surface temperature. He explained that this demonstrates how energy is transported to the surface, "Once high-altitude energy has accumulated enough energy, it will be released, forming flares or coronal mass ejections."
Nobel laureate David Boher said, “The sun is the source of this energy and all space weather. In order to understand it fully and ultimately predict space weather, we hope to understand the physical properties of the sun and delve into the smallest scales.”
Boborts added that these new discoveries also remind researchers that the sun is a ‘unique laboratory’. ‘It is the closest star to us, and it helps us understand some very basic physical laws.’
