Illustration of a bright yellow Sun on a dark starry background. The left side is cutaway revealing its inner structure in a red and blue pattern. A quarter is cut away more to reveal the inner core.

30 Years of GONG: The Enduring Legacy of the U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory Solar Monitoring Network

When the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) began operations in 1995, it was designed to run for just three years ...
An illustration of the Solar system with the Sun in bright orange and yellow at the center and a light blue Earth in the foreground – all on a blue background.

Two Eyes on the Sun: Unveiling Solar Dynamics with Coordinated Observations

In October 2022, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope and the European Space Agency (ESA) ...
An artist’s representation of twisting magnetic waves (inset) revealed for the first time by the NSF Inouye Solar Telescope. These upward-traveling torsional waves coexist with other wave types and may be an essential ingredient in solving the mystery of why the Sun’s atmosphere is so hot. For more information see Morton et al. (2025). Credit: NSF/NSO/AURA/J. Williams

Scientists Spot Long-Hypothesized Twisting Magnetic Waves in the Sun’s Corona with NSF Inouye Solar Telescope, Hinting at a Hidden Engine Driving Key Solar Phenomena

For more than half a century, scientists have been puzzled by one of the Sun’s unsolved mysteries: why is its ...
A close up image of the Sun with an orange wave-like structure in th middle and bright yellow sections above and below ir. It is covered in dark lines indicating the direction of the wave.

The NSF Inouye Solar Telescope Delivers Record-Breaking Images of Solar Flare, Coronal Loops

On August 8, 2024, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope captured the sharpest-ever images of ...
A compact brightening bursts to life at the edge of a sunspot! This multi-instrument figure showcases high-resolution observations of the same active region. Panels a–b show data from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager at the NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory. Panels c–e show spectra from the ViSP instrument at the Inouye. Panels f–h show images from the VBI instrument at the Inouye using three different light filters known as G-band, Hβ, and Ca II K. The panels reveal a small-scale, transient brightening (indicated by the black arrow) occurring at the boundary between opposite magnetic polarities (inside the blue box). One arcsecond corresponds to 720 km on the Sun.

Small-Scale Solar Explosion Reveals Big Clues About Magnetic Reconnection

Using the world’s largest solar telescope, a team of scientists has captured one of the most detailed views ever of ...
Magnetic Curtains on the Sun: NSF Inouye Solar Telescope Reveals Ultra-Fine Striations in Solar Surface

Magnetic Curtains on the Sun: NSF Inouye Solar Telescope Reveals Ultra-Fine Striations in Solar Surface

A team of solar physicists has released a new study shedding light on the fine-scale structure of the Sun’s surface ...
Dark pink loops rise and fall from a swath of dark pink in the bottom right corner over a light pink background.

“Raindrops in the Sun’s Corona”: New Adaptive Optics Shows Stunning Details of our Star’s Atmosphere

The Sun’s corona—the outermost layer of its atmosphere, visible only during a total solar eclipse—has long intrigued scientists due to ...
Undulating waves of gold, orange and red fill this image. Dark black areas are surrounded by deep red and orange indicating sunspots.

Largest Imaging Spectro-Polarimeter Achieves First Light at the NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

The U.S. National Science Foundation Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the world’s most powerful solar telescope, operated by the NSF ...
image with 4 sections

NSF’s Inouye Solar Telescope’s Cryo-NIRSP instrument offers unprecedented look at Alfvén waves

Over the last decade, scientists have confirmed the presence of a an important type of magnetized waves called Alfvén waves ...
Graphic showing a close up of a section of the Sun (in grey) with several filaments in color overlaid on it.

Harnessing AI for Space Weather Forecasting with NSF GONG Data

Solar filaments, dramatic thread-like structures visible in the Sun’s chromosphere, may hold the key to understanding one of the most ...
Purple and yellow image shows flaring off the sun. Actual data is insert in black and white

Groundbreaking Achievement: NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope Produces its First Magnetic Field Maps of the Sun’s Corona

Maui, Hawaii – The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, the world’s most powerful solar telescope, designed, ...
Participants sitting at a square of tables about to being the meeting.

AURA Annual Meeting 2024

On a bright April morning in Tucson, Arizona, the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy’s (AURA) Annual Meeting kicked ...