US Telescope Captures Sun’s Surface in Highest Detail Yet

The surface of the sun has been photographed in the highest detail yet by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope near the summit of Kaleakala volcano in Maui, Hawaii, as seen in footage released by the National Science Foundation, Wednesday, January 29.

The images show features as small as 30 kilometers across. The telescope responsible for the images is meant to enable a greater understanding of the sun and its impact on our planet, according to the National Solar Observatory.

The images show a pattern of turbulent, boiling gas, with each cell-like structure filled with hot plasma rising before cooling off and sinking. The sun is over 147 million kilometers from Earth. (REUTERS)