The US National Science Foundation presented a series of images of the Sun taken by the solar telescope named after him. Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, DKIST. Each pixel in the image corresponds to 20 km of the sun’s surface. These are the most detailed images of our star. What is interesting about it? Earth science does not have a good idea of ​​the physics of processes on the Sun, and for him every such picture is a path to amazing discoveries.

In general, scientists now agree that the “work” of the Sun and stars, as we can see, is based on the laws of quantum physics. The probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics phenomena (especially the tunnel effect) allows thermonuclear reactions inside stars to proceed slowly and accurately. Contrary to popular belief, the immense pressure and temperature in the core of stars alone is not enough to initiate a thermonuclear reaction. A quantum transition is necessary for hydrogen protons to overcome electromagnetic repulsion and approach the onset of strong interactions.

Center (full shadow) of a point on the sun and partial shadow surrounding it

But it’s all very complex physics. Detailed images of the Sun with all its fine structures (dimensions from 500 to 1500 kilometers) allow us to more accurately visualize the pattern of convective processes on our star and track the migration of magnetic fields with the highest accuracy. The Inoue telescope could help unravel the Sun’s cyclic activity and the same periodic variation of its magnetic poles, as its first images show. Classical physics can help with this, and telescope data will be the most valuable aid to scientists in this regard.

A fiery plasma bridge connecting the edges of the dot

After all, it’s just beautiful. At maximum resolution, all images can be found on the US National Science Foundation website.