Article Posted on : - Aug 26, 2010

Researchers at Big Bear Solar Observatory have captured this image of a sunspot that is now the most detailed ever captured in visible light.

LONDON (PTI): For the first time, scientists have captured the most detailed image of a sunspot which is bigger than Earth.

The stunning picture, which is like the centre of a flower or a mysterious eye, was taken using the Big Bear Telescope in California.

Sunspots, which usually last for a few days before disappearing, are actually regions where powerful magnetic fields emanate from the Sun.

These magnetic fields can get wound up so tightly that they rise up from inside the Sun, and the sunspots mark the points where this happens.

According to scientists, the irregular shapes that surround the sunspot are known as granulation and are made of hot gas rising from inside the Sun. Each one is around 1000km in size.

The temperature at the centre of the sunspot is around 3,600 Celsius, while the surrounding regions are much hotter, more than 5,800 Celsius, the Daily Mail reported.

According to scientists, this is the best photo of a huge sunspot ever taken using just visible light.

The telescope that took the picture is known as the New Solar Telescope which uses adaptive optics, parts that change to adapt to disturbances in the atmosphere and correct distortions in the signals.

Scientists believe magnetic structures, like sunspots hold an important key to understanding space weather, which originates in the Sun, and can have dire consequences on Earth's climate and environment.

A bad storm can disrupt power grids and communication, destroy satellites and even expose airline pilots, crew and passengers to radiation.

"This photo of a sunspot is now the most detailed ever obtained in visible light," according to astronomy magazine Ciel et l'Espace.

Professor Philip R Goodewill at the New Jersey Institute of Technology said that the images were achieved with the 1.6m clear aperture, off-axis New Solar Telescope (NST) at BBSO.

The telescope has a resolution covering about 50 miles on the Sun's surface.