Astronomers using the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope have captured the highest-resolution images of a solar flare ever recorded, providing unprecedented insights into the sun’s magnetic field and its impact on space weather.
During an X1.3-class flare on August 8, 2024, scientists observed dark coronal loop strands with remarkable clarity, revealing details not visible in previous observations. The loops averaged 48.2 km in width, which is thinner than previously thought, potentially resolving a long-standing issue in understanding the fundamental scale of solar coronal loops.
The breakthrough was achieved using the Inouye Solar Telescope’s Visible Broadband Imager (VBI) instrument, which resolved features down to ~24 km – two and a half times sharper than the next-best solar telescope. The discovery has significant implications for space weather forecasting, as it may help improve our understanding of how the sun’s magnetic field influences solar flares.
The study’s lead author, Cole Tamburri, believes that these new images are “a landmark moment in solar science,” offering a glimpse into the sun’s internal workings at unprecedented scales. The research team, including scientists from the National Solar Observatory and University of Colorado Boulder, focused on observing the razor-thin magnetic field loops woven above the flare ribbons.
The findings have far-reaching implications for our understanding of solar flares and their impact on Earth’s critical infrastructure. By shedding new light on the sun’s magnetic architecture, these records may help us better predict and prepare for future space weather events.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-08-inouye-solar-telescope-images-flare.html