Europe¡¯s Largest Solar Telescope Captures Unprecedented Images Of The Sun After Major Overhaul
GREGOR the largest solar telescope in Europe was able to capture never-seen before details of the Sun. The new achievement was made possible thanks to a major overhaul of the optics of the telescope. The task was carried out by a team of scientists and engineers from the Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics.
Scientists have maintained a constant observation of the Sun in pursuit of answers to several mysteries. As a result of this continuous exercise, unprecedented images of the fine-structure of the Sun are now out that show super fine details of our primary star¡¯s structure. The unparalleled details have been captured through GREGOR, the largest solar telescope in Europe.
Located on Teide Observatory, Spain and operated by a German consortium, GREGOR was able to capture never-seen before details of the Sun. The telescope allowed scientists to resolve details as small as 50 km on the Sun. To put that into perspective, know that the Sun has a diameter of 1.4 million km.
Europe¡¯s largest solar telescope GREGOR captures intricate structures of solar magnetic fields in very high resolution (wavelength - 516 nm). (Image: KIS)
The new achievement was made possible thanks to a major overhaul of GREGOR¡¯s optics recently. The task was carried out by a team of scientists and engineers from the Leibniz Institute for Solar Physics (KIS), thus allowing the Sun to be observed at a higher resolution than ever before.
¡°This was a very exciting, but also extremely challenging project. In only one year we completely redesigned the optics, mechanics, and electronics to achieve the best possible image quality.¡± said Dr. Lucia Kleint, who led the project and the German solar telescopes on Tenerife.
Technical breakthrough
A sunspot observed in high resolution by the GREGOR telescope at the wavelength 430 nm. (Image: KIS)
A recent release by KIS explains how the images were made possible. It explains that a major ¡°technical breakthrough¡± was achieved by the project team in March this year. As the team was stranded at the observatory during the lockdown, it set up the optical laboratory from the ground up.
At the time though, snow storms prevented the team from using the telescope to make any observations. It was only when Spain reopened in July that the team flew back and obtained the ¡°highest resolution images of the Sun ever taken by a European telescope.¡±
The GREGOR telescope on Tenerife, Spain (Image: KIS)
The first light images by the telescope which were obtained back in July this year reveal fine details of sunspot evolution and intricate structures in solar plasma. KIS explains that the new optics of the telescope now allow scientists to study other aspects too, including ¡°magnetic fields, convection, turbulence, solar eruptions, and sunspots.¡±
Understanding these aspects further allow us to determine the influence of the Sun on Earth and thus minimise damage of satellites and technological infrastructure by taking optimum measures.
