New York (AP) — A team of scientists has captured the most detailed images yet of the sun’s surface, revealing a rugged and dynamic facade. It is dangerous to look directly at the sun without eye protection. However, researchers were able to examine the scorching surface with the help of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope of the National Science Foundation, located on the island of Maui, Hawaii.

The scientists initially took the images for a different purpose: to fine-tune and test the telescope’s limits. But upon reviewing the results, they realized they had photographed the sun’s outer layer at an unprecedented resolution. Additionally, they observed strange feather-like patterns rippling across the surface.

“It reminds me of famous paintings, like the swirling skies in Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’,” said solar physicist Ruizhu Chen from Stanford University, who was not involved in the new research.

The researchers observed wavy instabilities on the sun’s surface caused by fragments of magnetized plasma moving alongside each other at varying speeds, similar to waves formed when the wind blows over water. This is a well-known phenomenon that guides fluid motion.

While this has been seen on Earth and other planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, “it has never been observed at this level on the solar surface,” according to study co-author Friedrich Wöger of the National Solar Observatory.

The findings were published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Scientists have a keen interest in understanding the sun’s inner workings to better track massive bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections, which can be hurled toward Earth. When they hit, they can trigger solar storms, potentially disrupting GPS communications and creating colorful auroras.

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This story was translated from English by an AP editor using generative artificial intelligence tools.