VIDEO SHOWS: SUN'S VISIBLE SURFACE TAKEN BY DANIEL K. INOUYE SOLAR TELESCOPE / ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE OF TELESCOPE

STORY: Astronomers have captured the highest-resolution images yet of the sun's visible surface, revealing tiny swirling, vortex-like patterns, according to footage released on Wednesday (August 5). The footage reveals continuously growing whirls of hot plasma, large on a human scale but small on the scale of a stellar surface, with diameters ranging from about 12 miles (19 km) — the minimum scale detectable by the world's most powerful solar telescope — up to roughly 100 miles (170 km) The discovery was made using the U.S. National Science Foundation's Hawaii-based Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. Researchers said the swirls may help explain how energy builds up on the sun and triggers solar flares and eruptions.(Production, Editing, Writing: Kokkai Ng.)

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: IN SPACE (RELEASED AUGUST 5, 2026) (NSF/NSO/AURA/MPS - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy NSF/NSO/AURA/MPS) (MUTE)

1. TIMELAPSE OF SUN'S VISIBLE SURFACE TAKEN BY DANIEL K. INOUYE SOLAR TELESCOPE

2. VARIOUS TIMELAPSES AND CLOSE-UPS OF SUN'S VISIBLE SURFACE TAKEN BY DANIEL K. INOUYE SOLAR TELESCOPE

3. COMPOSITE SHOWING SUN'S VISIBLE SURFACE TAKEN BY DANIEL K. INOUYE SOLAR TELESCOPE AND CLOSE-UPS

ANIMATION (RELEASED AUGUST 5, 2026) (NSF/NSO/AURA/MPS/HAO/NASA/SDO/AIA - No resales / No archive / Must on-screen courtesy NSF/NSO/AURA/MPS/HAO/NASA/SDO/AIA) (MUTE)

4. ANIMATED SEQUENCE SHOWING THE SUN, SUN'S VISIBLE SURFACE TAKEN BY DANIEL K. INOUYE SOLAR TELESCOPE, AND SIMULATION OF THE VERTICAL MAGNETIC FIELD

MAUI, HAWAII, UNITED STATES (ARCHIVE - AUGUST 1, 2015) (REUTERS - Access all)

5. HALEAKALA HIGH ALTITUDE OBSERVATORY ON VOLCANO

6. ENCLOSURE FOR DANIEL K. INOUYE SOLAR TELESCOPE

7. (LEFT TO RIGHT) DANIEL K. INOUYE SOLAR TELESCOPE, TELESCOPES PAN-STARRS 1 (PS 1) AND PAN-STARRS 1 (PS 2)

8. ARCH GIRDER OF ENCLOSURE FOR DANIEL K. INOUYE SOLAR TELESCOPE