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2d ago

Visible Tunable Filter Achieves First Light on Inouye Solar Telescope

The advanced spectro-polarimeter captured unprecedented high-resolution images of sunspots, marking a major milestone in solar physics research.

A narrow-band image of the Sun at a wavelength of λ=588.9nm, that of a well known solar sodium line also known as the “NaD line.” The image was acquired during recent first light efforts with the VTF at the Inouye, and shows how precisely the structures within a sunspot are resolved. Each pixel in the original version of the image corresponds to 10 km (or 6.2 miles) on the Sun. (Credit: VTF/KIS/NSF/NSO/AURA)
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Overview

  • The Visible Tunable Filter (VTF), the most advanced instrument on the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, has achieved its technical first light after 15 years of development.
  • The VTF captured its first high-resolution images of a sunspot, revealing fine structures at a resolution of 10 kilometers per pixel over a 25,000 km region.
  • This milestone completes the telescope’s suite of instruments, enabling detailed spectro-polarimetric analysis of solar plasma flows, magnetic fields, and atmospheric layers.
  • Scientists aim to use VTF data to improve understanding of solar dynamics and enhance predictions of solar storms that can disrupt Earth's infrastructure.
  • Developed through international collaboration, the VTF represents a significant technological advance, described as the 'heart' of the world’s largest solar telescope.