Friday, December 11, 2020

New Solar Telescope Serves Up Sunspot Image in Great Detail

Close-up of a sunspot - the first sunspot photo
released by the new Inouye Solar Telescope.
(Courtesy National Solar Observatory/NSF)

The new Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope is
the world's largest solar observatory.
(Courtesy National Solar Observatory/NSF)

The National Science Foundation's new Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii has released its first image of a sunspot, with incredible detail. The ARRL Letter reports that the image, taken in January 2020, is among the first photos of a Cycle 25 sunspot. The world's largest solar observatory, the Inouye telescope has a 4-meter primary mirror that reportedly will give the best Earthbound views of the sun throughout Cycle 25. The late Daniel Inouye was a longtime U.S. Senator from Hawaii. The telescope is still in its final stages of construction.