LIVE: Sunspot larger than United States spotted in new image of the sun
SPACE (KXAN) — The world’s largest solar telescope has revealed a sunspot larger than several planets.
The Daniel K Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawai’i, operated by the National Science Foundation, captured the image using a new device: the Visible Tunable Filter (VTF).
The image revealed a cluster of sunspots that covers 241 million square miles. For reference, the United States has a land mass of over 3.5 million square miles, according to the U.S. Census.
According to the National Weather Service, sunspots are area where the sun’s magnetic field is at its strongest.
These spots are darker than the surrounding sun and serve as the origin point for solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
VTF will help the Inouye telescope view the sun at much higher resolutions. The telescope is the largest solar telescope on Earth. These observations will help monitor solar weather, which can damage satellites around our planet.
VTF took 15 years to build. Constructed at Germany’s Institute for Solar Physics, it took months to install. The filter is the size of a small garage and weighs 5.6 tons.
Space weather’s impact on Earth
Monitoring solar weather helps us better understand impacts here on Earth. Beyond solar flares, solar weather is also responsible for the Aurora Borealis. A strong solar storm can cause the Northern Lights to be seen as far south as Texas.
Recently, the sun reached the peak of its solar cycle. During a solar cycle, activity on the sun grows more intense over an eleven year period.
After reaching a peak, this activity begins to drop off. This means fewer sun spots and solar flares.
Recently, another large sunspot has begun emerging over the sun’s northeastern limb. Called sunspot 4079, the sunspot is believed to be a new sighting of a previous sunspot, 4055. Sunspots are numbered each time they orbit around the sun.
