Most detailed images of the Sun reveal swirling 'whirlpools' driving space weather
See the Sun like never before with most detailed images yet
Using the world's most powerful solar telescope, scientists have captured the Sun's surface in unprecedented detail, revealing 'whirlpools' of activity caused by twisted magnetic fields. These vortices, known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, are key to understanding space weather that can disrupt power grids and satellites. The findings, published in Nature, could help predict such events and explain why the Sun's surface is so hot.
Once there's enough energy wound up in the higher layers, it can then be released, as a flare or what's known as a coronal mass ejection.