\nThe churning of plasma within the Sun produces an invisible magnetic field that envelops our entire Solar System.<\/p>\n
Up close, at the Sun\u2019s surface, the plasma is turbulent, dragging the magnetic field with it. It roils and bubbles and occasionally bursts out clouds of material known as coronal mass ejections<\/a>. <\/p>\n Over the years, scientists have made many close-ups of the Sun\u2019s surface<\/a> with various telescopes and observatories. Now, we have the highest-resolution images yet, thanks to the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST<\/a>) on Maui, Hawai’i.<\/p>\n In a study published today in Nature<\/a>, a team led by researchers from the US National Solar Observatory and Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research delivers new observations of the surface of the Sun with unprecedented precision \u2013 revealing a feature never seen before. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Sun\u2019s surface, captured by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope.<\/p>\n A solar mystery<\/p>\n The Sun\u2019s magnetic field drives what we call space weather. Explosive flares in the outer atmosphere of the Sun \u2013 the corona \u2013 can cause radiation storms on Earth<\/a>, disrupting satellites, power grids and communications.<\/p>\n And there\u2019s a major mystery concerning the corona. The Sun\u2019s surface is about 5,500\u00b0C<\/a>. That\u2019s much cooler than its core, about 27 million degrees Celsius. But the corona, rising above the surface, reaches millions of degrees.<\/p>\n To heat it, energy must pass through cooler intermediate layers. Why does the temperature, after dropping, suddenly rise again? To pin down which mechanism is responsible, we need to observe physical processes on the Sun\u2019s surface that unfold over short times and small distances.<\/p>\n DKIST\u2019s four-metre mirror, advanced optics and high-speed cameras resolve features as small as 20 kilometres across, which is tiny compared to the Sun\u2019s radius of 696,000km. They\u2019ve captured subtle brightness variations and magnetic structures with unmatched clarity.<\/p>\n Connecting the loops<\/p>\n On the Sun\u2019s surface, the roiling flows of plasma drag magnetic fields with them. Sometimes they form coherent magnetic sunspots; at others times they twist and tangle.<\/p>\n These surface magnetic fields extend upward into the corona, and the mechanics at the surface cause magnetic fields aloft to snap and reconnect. This reconfiguration of the magnetic field can release stored energy into heat and fast flows, sometimes triggering explosive solar flares.<\/p>\n Computer-generated models of the Sun\u2019s magnetic field lines. The key challenge is to connect these small, short events at the surface to the large-scale heating and eruptions in the Sun\u2019s atmosphere above.<\/p>\n Solving that link would make a huge advance towards understanding why the corona is so hot. It would also improve our ability to predict space weather and how it might affect Earth, as well as interpret the magnetic activity and space weather of distant stars.<\/p>\n In the new study, the team presents the first clear evidence on the Sun of one of nature\u2019s most striking patterns \u2013 the Kelvin\u2013Helmholtz instability.<\/p>\n These rolling, wave-like billows form when fast fluid slides past slower fluid. Sometimes you can see it along the edges of windswept clouds.<\/p>\n A Kelvin\u2013Helmholtz instability visible in clouds above Mount Duval, New South Wales, Australia.![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20260804-50-9inyvr.jpeg\")
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\n NASA\/GSFC\/Solar Dynamics Observatory<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/file-20260804-50-bcqa1o.jpg\")
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\n Grahamuk\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, CC BY-SA<\/a><\/p>\n