The most detailed photos and videos of the sun's surface ever captured reveal Texas-sized cells of boiling plasma

NSO/NSF/AURA

• The highest-resolution photos and video ever taken of the sun's surface show it covered in Texas-sized blobs of boiling plasma.
• The images come from the new Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawai'i.
• By working with two spacecraft orbiting the sun, this new observatory could help forecast violent space weather that can wipe out power grids, cut off emergency communications, and endanger astronauts.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The sun is a violent place, filled with boiling plasma and unpredictable eruptions. Now, the highest-resolution photos and videos ever taken of its surface show that action in unprecedented detail.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) released the data and images from the first observations from its Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawai'i on Wednesday. The photos and videos reveal a pattern of roiling plasma that blankets the sun's surface. Each cell-like structure is about the size of Texas. 

When the telescope's construction ends on June 30, it will help carve out a new era in solar science, with help from NASA's Parker Solar Probe, which is circling the sun, and the upcoming Solar Orbiter, which launches next week.

The trio of telescopes could help scientists forecast dangerous eruptions on the sun. They will also produce more photos and videos like those below. Here are the stunning new images, and what to expect next.

The Inouye Solar Telescope's first photos reveal a pattern of roiling plasma that blankets the sun's surface. Each cell-like structure is about the size of Texas.

NSO/NSF/AURA

The smallest features in this image — the tiniest white dots between plasma cells — are the size of Manhattan.

"With the first try, we were able to obtain the highest-resolution images and movies of the solar surface ever taken," Thomas Rimmele, the telescope's director, said in a press briefing.

NSO/NSF/AURA

"The first light was a very tense but also exciting moment. The atmosphere in the telescope control room was similar to a rocket launch. As first images appeared on the screen, they exceeded my expectations," Rimmele added.

The 4-meter telescope sits atop the 10,000-foot summit of Haleakala on Maui, Hawai'i.

The Inouye photos and videos are five times higher in resolution than those from previous solar telescopes.

NSO/NSF/AURA

"Up to now, we have seen probably just the tip of the iceberg. We have not been able to see the smallest magnetic features that are predicted to exist all over the surface of the sun," Rimmele said.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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