Unprecedented Solar Telescope Images Reveal Giant Sunspot Four Times Larger Than Earth.

New images of the sun's surface captured by the National Science Foundation's Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope have revealed sunspots and other features in unprecedented detail. The photos showcase the quieter aspects of the solar surface, including cool, dark sunspots that can be the size of Earth or larger. The telescope was designed to make ongoing measurements of the magnetic fields in the sun's corona and provide images of the solar atmosphere like never before. Solar data from the Inouye Solar Telescope, as well as two space-based missions called Solar Orbiter and the Parker Solar Probe, can help unravel some of the sun's enduring mysteries.