The world’s largest solar telescope, perched atop Hawaii’s Haleakalā mountain, has made a groundbreaking discovery with its new Visible Tunable Filter (VTF) camera. After over a decade in development, the VTF is finally operational and has captured an unprecedented photo of the sun.
The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) is designed to study the sun’s behavior and predict space storms that can affect Earth’s power grids and communications satellites. The VTF camera is its most powerful instrument, capable of capturing details on the solar surface at a resolution of 6.2 miles per pixel.
The first image from the VTF shows a massive clump of sunspots, with each blob measuring wider than the continental United States. This advanced camera can see in multiple wavelengths of light, revealing details about the sun’s magnetic field and plasma that were previously invisible.
During a single observation, the VTF can collect over 10 million spectra, providing valuable insights into the sun’s atmosphere temperature, magnetic field strength, and more. While the telescope is still undergoing testing and setup, the initial images show great promise for understanding our nearest star.
The significance of this technological achievement was highlighted by Carrie Black, director of the National Solar Observatory, who described the VTF as “the heart” of the DKIST. The camera’s addition completes the telescope’s arsenal of scientific instruments and opens up new avenues for solar research.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/worlds-largest-solar-telescope-reveals-165826201.html