{"id":2089654,"date":"2026-08-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2089654"},"modified":"2026-08-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:00:00","slug":"get-up-close-to-the-sun-in-the-highest-resolution-image-ever-captured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2089654","title":{"rendered":"Get Up Close to the Sun in the Highest Resolution Image Ever Captured"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content prose-colossal max-w-none\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default entry-header is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"colo-post-featured-image wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"409\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sun-1.gif\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"a gif of a high-resolution up-close image of the sun&apos;s surface with undulating wave-like details\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The highest-resolution image of the Sun\u2019s surface (photosphere) ever captured, taken at 416 nm by the Inouye Solar Telescope. All images courtesy of NSF\/NSO\/AURA\/MPS, shared with permission<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group post-title is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0bc941e6 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h1 class=\"alignfull wp-block-post-title\">Get Up Close to the Sun in the Highest Resolution Image Ever Captured<\/h1>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-meta is-layout-flex wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-date\"><time datetime=\"2026-08-12T09:19:34-05:00\">August 12, 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"taxonomy-category wp-block-post-terms\"><a class=\"category-photography\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/photography\/\" rel=\"tag\">Photography<\/a><a class=\"category-science\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/category\/science\/\" rel=\"tag\">Science<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author-name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/author\/kmothes\/\" target=\"_self\" class=\"wp-block-post-author-name__link\">Kate Mothes<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull post-share-group is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing has-visible-labels has-icon-color is-style-logos-only\">\n<\/ul>\n<p><button class=\"simplefavorite-button preset\" data-postid=\"476708\" data-siteid=\"1\" data-groupid=\"1\" data-favoritecount=\"0\"><i class=\"sf-icon-bookmark\"><\/i>Bookmark<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Scientists have long studied how magnetic energy powers solar activity. The constant motion of plasma particles and the sun\u2019s rotation are major contributors to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Science_Exploration\/Space_Science\/The_solar_cycle_a_heartbeat_of_stellar_energy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">its cycles<\/a> and events, such as flares and coronal mass ejections, which lob huge quantities of plasma and gas into space.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes these explosions reach the earth\u2019s magnetic field and cause geomagnetic storms, which are when we see some of the most brilliant auroras. But they also disrupt or damage our communications systems, power grids, GPS, and satellites, and researchers want to further understand how the sun builds up its magnetic energy so we better know how to guard against its massive fits of activity. They\u2019ve also been trying to figure out why the sun\u2019s corona, or atmosphere, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.space.com\/solar-waves-sun-corona-mysteriously-hotter-than-surface\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">millions of degrees hotter<\/a> than its surface.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Thanks to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nso.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. National Science Foundation<\/a>\u2019s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, which has pride of place at the National Solar Observatory on Maui, Hawaii, the highest-resolution image of the sun ever captured has revealed unique features that may give solar scientists some insight into how this magnetic energy builds.<\/p>\n<p>Rippling forms that physicists call Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability (KHI) demonstrate the effect of two fluids flowing past each other at different velocities. It\u2019s a phenomenon named for the two scientists who observed it for the first time around 1870, and it can be seen in clouds, ocean waves, and the atmospheres of gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn. <\/p>\n<p>The Inouye telescope, the most powerful of its kind, was able to capture features smaller than 12 miles across, providing insights that remained hidden in earlier photos. The details may illuminate part of a solar process that scientists refer to as \u201cflux braiding,\u201d because the way the sun\u2019s magnetic field lines move around one another result in a plaited effect. But the tension builds and builds before eventually breaking, which is when we see flares and similar events. The swirls of KHI may have something to do with how these twists happen in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis could solve this biggest mystery of the last half a century for solar physics and astrophysics,\u201d team scientist Dr. David Kuridze told <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2026\/aug\/05\/unprecedented-images-may-explain-one-of-greatest-mysteries-of-the-sun\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Guardian<\/a>.<\/em> \u201cWhen you have this instability in the system, it is very easy to cascade the energy into smaller scales. And at some point, it just dissipates as a heat. This could make hot coronas, hot outer atmospheres of the sun and similar stars.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sun-2.jpg\" class=\"swipebox\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-476708\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1901\" height=\"2772\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/sun-2.jpg\" alt=\"a high-resolution, up-close image of the sun&apos;s surface with undulating wave-like details, overlaid with an outline of Hawaii to show scale\" class=\"wp-image-476710\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"after-entry\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"After Entry\">\n<section id=\"block-16\" class=\"widget widget_block widget_text\">\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:#88caf0\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><strong>Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong><\/mark> Become a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/members\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"118516\">Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"block-17\" class=\"widget widget_block\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top member-benefits is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Hide advertising<\/li>\n<li>Save your favorite articles<\/li>\n<li>Get 15% off in the <a href=\"https:\/\/colossal.shop\/\">Colossal Shop<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Receive members-only newsletter<\/li>\n<li>Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top member-options is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Join us today!<\/h3>\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-horizontal is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-crow-color has-verdigris-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.memberful.com\/checkout?plan=113464\">$7\/month<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-crow-color has-verdigris-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/colossal.memberful.com\/checkout?plan=113463\">$75\/year<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-crow-color has-chalk-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/members\/\">Explore membership options<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"20\" height=\"21\" class=\"wp-image-327872\" style=\"width: 20px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/arrow-left.svg\" alt><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/aside>\n<nav class=\"navigation post-navigation\" role=\"navigation\">\n<div class=\"nav-links\">\n<div class=\"nav-previous\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thisiscolossal.com\/2026\/08\/sungho-bae-stuffed-animal-sculptures\/\" rel=\"prev\">Next article<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The highest-resolution image of the Sun\u2019s surface (photosphere) ever captured, taken at 416 nm by the Inouye Solar Telescope. All images courtesy of NSF\/NSO\/AURA\/MPS, shared with permission Get Up Close to the Sun in the Highest Resolution Image Ever Captured August 12, 2026 PhotographyScience Kate Mothes Bookmark Scientists have long studied how magnetic energy powers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,270],"class_list":["post-2089654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-thisiscolossal-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2089654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2089654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2089654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2089654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2089654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}