Telescope in California snaps clearest-ever picture of sunspot

Astronomers say a telescope in California equipped with new technology has captured the most precise and detailed sunspot image ever taken. The Big Bear Solar Observatory in Big Bear, Calif., operated by the New Jersey Institute of Technology, has revealed never-before-seen details of solar magnetism, they said. The new and remarkably detailed photos of the sun were obtained using the observatory's New Solar Telescope, the world's largest solar aperture telescope, which has been equipped with new technology, an institute release said Tuesday. "With our new generation visible imaging spectrometer," said NJIT physics Professor Wenda Cao, "the solar atmosphere from the photosphere to the chromosphere can be monitored in a near real time." In the most precise sunspot image ever obtained, the textbook example looks like a daisy with many petals. "With the unprecedented resolution of BBSO's NST, many previously unknown small-scale sunspot features can now be perceived," Cao said.