New high-resolution observations from the Inouye Solar Telescope, located in Hawaii, have provided the clearest view yet of the Sun's surface in visible light. The images reveal the presence of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), a phenomenon characterized by waves and swirls occurring when two streams of magnetic plasma move past one another at different speeds.

While scientists have long theorized that KHI occurs on the solar surface, these recent images offer the first confirmation of the process. The captured data displays flower-like solar structures, with the edges of these granules exhibiting the characteristic swirls of the instability. Although the image covers an area roughly equivalent to the radius of Earth, the telescope's resolution is sharp enough to distinguish features the size of a city.

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Researchers intend to use these findings to better understand how KHI influences the movement of magnetic fields and energy. Furthermore, the study of these instabilities may provide insight into the mechanisms that heat the solar corona. The featured image, presented in false-yellow, was originally captured in deep blue light.

Source: NASA