Astronomy - USA (2020-06)

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NEW SOLAR

SCOPE SEES

FIRST LIGHT

A close-up view

reveals the Sun’s

boiling surface.

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar

Telescope, located on the

Haleakala volcano on the

Hawaiian island of Maui,

released its first photo of

the Sun on January 29. The

image covers an area roughly

22,680 miles (36,500 kilome-

ters) on each side and clearly

shows plasma cells on our

star’s surface. These cells form

as hot plasma from within

the Sun rises to the surface,

cools, and sinks back down in

a process called convection,

like bubbling water in a boiling

pot. The hottest plasma, which

has just risen to the surface,

appears light in this image,

while the darker edges show

where cooler plasma is sinking

below. In addition to creating

unprecedented views of our

star, the new telescope will help

astronomers study the Sun’s

magnetic field and test theories

about solar physics that have

eluded previous observations.

— ERIK A K. CARLSON

DIM AND DUSTY

Betelgeuse has been

undergoing not only

brightness changes, but

apparent shape changes

as well. Astronomers

suspect the star may be

shedding material, which

cools and blocks some of

its light from view.

SIGNIFICANT LOSS

Katherine Johnson,

who worked at NASA

as a human computer

during the space race

and was featured

in the book and film

Hidden Figures, died

February 24 at the

age of 101.

NEW SHAPES

Citizen scientists have

helped researchers

identify a new type

of aurora, called the

dunes. Rather than

appearing as vertical

curtains, this aurora

looks like horizontal

dunes of sand.

HOT

BYTES

SNAPSHOT

QUANT UM GR AVIT Y

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE UNIVERSE THIS MONTH

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