Overview

• The Visible Tunable Filtergraph (VTF), developed by the Institute for Solar Physics in Freiburg, has delivered its first detailed solar images after 15 years of development.
• Installed at the Inouye Solar Telescope on Hawaii’s Haleakala volcano, the VTF is now part of the world’s largest solar telescope.
• The instrument analyzes sunlight with unprecedented precision, providing critical data on plasma flows and magnetic fields, according to the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research.
• Even in its test phase, the VTF reveals fine-scale solar surface details, with further improvements expected as it transitions to full operational status.
• Matthias Schubert, the VTF project scientist, described the instrument as the 'heart' of the solar telescope, marking a major technological leap in solar physics research.