Solar Telescope Captures Kelvin-Helmholtz Vortices on Sun

Overview

• The result, which was published in Nature on Wednesday, is based on observations from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope and marks the first clear imaging of the long-predicted Kelvin-Helmholtz instability on the Sun.
• The telescope reached about 19 km spatial resolution and revealed vortices 25 to 170 km across, spaced roughly 65 km apart and moving at speeds up to about 3 km per second.
• Researchers compared the time-lapse images with computer simulations that reproduced the same vortex shapes, sizes and motions, which strengthens the interpretation that these are true Kelvin-Helmholtz structures rather than imaging artifacts.
• Authors say the vortices mix magnetized plasma and continuously twist magnetic field lines, a process that can store magnetic energy and could contribute to coronal heating and to the buildup of eruptions, though the team stresses these structures are not claimed to be the sole cause.
• The discovery highlights DKIST’s ability to reveal previously hidden small-scale solar physics and sets up follow-up work to measure how much energy the vortices carry and whether they directly affect space weather that can harm satellites, navigation and power systems.