NSF’s DKIST Captures Sharpest-Ever Images of Fine Solar Magnetic Striations

NSF’s DKIST captured ultra-fine magnetic striations on the Sun’s surface, just 20 km wide.

Written by Gadgets 360 Staff | Updated: 18 June 2025 12:33 IST

NSF’s DKIST Captures Sharpest-Ever Images of Fine Solar Magnetic Striations

Photo Credit: NSF/NSO/AURA

DKIST Uncovers Ultra-Thin Magnetic Striations on the Sun’s Surface, Offering New Solar Insights

Highlights

DKIST reveals 20-km wide magnetic striations on Sun’s granules
Striations trace fine magnetic field variations in solar photosphere
Discovery may improve solar storm and space weather forecasting

In a new study using the NSF's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), scientists captured the sharpest-ever views of the Sun's surface, revealing ultra-narrow bright and dark “striations” only ~20 kilometers wide. These striations – alternating light and dark bands on the walls of solar granules – arise from tiny fluctuations in the magnetic field, tracing the Sun's magnetism. DKIST's unmatched 4-meter mirror achieved ~0.03″ (~20 km) resolution – roughly the length of Manhattan Island – unveiling a new layer of complexity in solar magnetic structure. Lead author Dr. David Kuridze calls them “the fingerprints of fine-scale magnetic field variations”.

Ultra-Fine Striations on the Solar Photosphere

According to the study, using DKIST's Visible Broadband Imager (VBI) in the G-band (430 nm), researchers captured fine stripes at ~0.03″ (~20 km) resolution. The images show alternating bright and dark bands on solar granule walls, each 20–50 km across. These patterns come from thin, curtain-like sheets of magnetic field rippling across the granule walls.

As Kuridze explains, stronger fields yield bright lanes and weaker fields dark lanes. Models show that ~100 gauss of field variation can create slight density dips (Wilson depressions) a few kilometers deep in the photosphere. At this fine scale, Kuridze notes, the striations are literally “the fingerprints of fine-scale magnetic field variations”.

Aurora Alert! Northern Lights May Be Visible as Far South as New York on June 14

Implications for Solar Magnetism and Space Weather

Mapping this fine-scale magnetic architecture is crucial for understanding solar storms. Tiny surface fields can seed flares, eruptions and coronal mass ejections – events that drive space weather – so resolving them improves space weather forecasting. NSO co-author Dr. Han Uitenbroek points out that similar magnetically induced stripes have been seen in distant molecular clouds, highlighting the universal significance of this phenomenon.

With its 4-meter aperture – the world's largest solar telescope – DKIST was built to probe solar magnetism. Observers hail this discovery as “one of many firsts” for Inouye, underscoring DKIST's unique power to reveal the small-scale magnetic physics that drive space weather. DKIST was designed to resolve these fine magnetic features.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.