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The sharpest pictures ever taken of the Sun show it swirling

The Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii captured vortices spaced 50 to 65 km apart, driven by Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.

Ellsworth Toohey
Aug 08, 2026
∙ Paid
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability — NSF/NSO/AURA/MPS, CC BY 4.0 (National Solar Observatory)
Kelvin-Helmholtz instability — NSF/NSO/AURA/MPS, CC BY 4.0 (National Solar Observatory)

The surface of the Sun has been photographed in more detail than ever before, and it turns out to be covered in whirlpools. Victoria Gill reports for BBC News on the most detailed images of the Sun yet, taken by the Inouye Solar Telescope on a high peak in Hawaii and …

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