Telescope captures amazing image of the sun's surface - the most detailed to date

A telescope has captured an amazing image of the sun with detail that has never been seen before.

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) newest telescope - the Inouye Solar Telescope - has produced its first images showing the sun's surface in unprecedented detail.

Scientists say it will help to further understand the sun and the impacts on the planet.

NSF Director France Córdova said the first images had been eagerly awaited.

The close-up images show "turbulent boiling plasma" covering the entire sun.

"We can now share these images and videos, which are the most detailed of our sun to date," Córdova said.

Telescope captures amazing image of the sun's surface - the most detailed to date
Photo credit: NSF

"The telescope will improve our understanding of what drives space weather and ultimately help forecasters predict solar storms."

Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy president Matt Mountain said the telescope will study the physics behind space weather in the coming decades.

"On Earth, we can predict if it is going to rain pretty much anywhere in the world very accurately, and space weather just isn't there yet."