The highest-resolution image of the Sun’s surface (photosphere) ever captured, taken at 416 nm by the Inouye Solar Telescope. All images courtesy of NSF/NSO/AURA/MPS, shared with permission Get Up Close to the Sun in the Highest Resolution Image Ever Captured PhotographyScience Kate Mothes SharePinEmailCopyBookmarkScientists have long studied how magnetic energy powers solar activity. They’ve also been trying to figure out why the sun’s corona, or atmosphere, is millions of degrees hotter than its surface. The Inouye telescope, the most powerful of its kind, was able to capture features smaller than 12 miles across, providing insights that remained hidden in earlier photos. But the tension builds and builds before eventually breaking, which is when we see flares and similar events.