NSF Inouye Solar Telescope Enables Major Discovery of a Hidden Solar Process - NSO - National Solar Observatory

Scientists using the U.S. National Science Foundation Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope have made a major breakthrough in solar physics, discovering Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability on the surface of the Sun — a finding that could help explain explosive solar activity and other solar phenomena. SUMMARY: The U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO) announced today a major breakthrough in solar physics. Using the world’s most powerful solar telescope, the NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope near the summit of Maui’s Haleakalā, combined with computer simulations, an international team of scientists from the NSO, NSF NCAR High Altitude Observatory (HAO), and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) found the signature of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), tiny swirling patterns like small whirlpools, on the Sun’s surface. Researchers suggest that KHI might be a key reason why the Sun’s outer atmosphere gets so hot, and why magnetic energy builds up and moves around on the Sun. Magnetic energy fuels solar flares and eruptions—the kind of solar activity that can send bursts of energy toward Earth and affect satellites, power grids, and other technology. The discovery opens a new window into the fundamental physics of the Sun and other stars while underscoring the unmatched capabilities of the Inouye Solar Telescope. 📥 Download Media Kit Boulder, Colorado — August 5, 2026 — The U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO) today announced a groundbreaking discovery in the field of solar physics that could fundamentally change how we understand the physical mechanisms driving solar activity and its impacts on life on Earth. NSF Inouye Solar Telescope Captures First High-Resolution View of Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability in the Solar Photosphere A team of international researchers from the NSO, the NSF NCAR High Altitude Observatory (HAO), and the German Max Planck Institut für Sonnensystemforschung (MPS) has discovered Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI) in the form of small, swirling, whirlpool-like patterns on the surface of the sun (the photosphere). The research, published in the journal Nature, is based on data collected with the world’s largest solar telescope, the NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, built and operated by NSO on the island of Maui, HI. The time-lapse video and images released today reveal a solar landscape unlike any that had been seen before, uncovering small-scale and dynamic swirls everywhere at the edges of magnetic areas. This allowed for the unambiguous identification of KHI in the photosphere, providing the first experimental confirmation of a phenomenon that has long been predicted by theory but could only be revealed by the Inouye Solar Telescope’s high spatial resolution. The highest-resolution image of the Sun’s surface (photosphere) ever captured, taken at 416 nm by the Inouye Solar Telescope. It reveals deformed boundaries of magnetic elements and ultra-fine scale stripes, both associated with Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Credit: NSF/NSO/AURA/MPS “We believe that the discovery of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the solar photosphere, backed up by analysis of numerical simulations, is a major step forward in our understanding of the dynamics and evolution of solar and stellar plasma, and will serve as a basis for future discoveries.“ — Dr. David Boboltz, Deputy Director at the National Solar Observatory. Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Explained An effect caused by fluid motion, KHI occurs when two fluids slide past each other at different velocities creating a “shear” at the interface—causing small disturbances to grow into striking, wave-like or spiraling, vortices that look like breaking ocean waves. Since its original formulation by Lord Kelvin and Hermann von Helmholtz around 1870, KHI has been observed and investigated across many areas of physics, including fluid dynamics, meteorology, oceanography, heliosphysics, and astrophysics. The instability is observed at a variety of scales from small lake and ocean waves (in windy conditions) and cloud formations on Earth, to the atmospheres of gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn, and the interaction of the solar wind with planetary magnetospheres within our solar system. A close-up view from the Inouye Solar Telescope image highlighting a region of the solar photosphere. The enlarged inset reveals the fine-scale magnetic structures and dark striations associated with the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at a scale of tens of kilometers. Credit: NSF/NSO/AURA/MPSNSF/NSO/AURA/MPSHawai‘i-scale: The highest-resolution image of the Sun's surface (photosphere) ever captured, taken at 416 nm by the Inouye Solar Telescope. It reveals deformed boundaries of magnetic elements and ultra-fine scale stripes, both associated with Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Credit: NSF/NSO/AURA/MPSNSF/NSO/AURA/MPS Vortices as a Driver of the Sun’s Explosive Events The swirling vortices of magnetic solar plasma have become an area of increased interest for solar physicists. They could be an effective source of free magnetic energy, which powers major solar activity—including explosive events from tiny nano-flares to massive flares, jets, and coronal mass ejections. These are the main contributors to space weather, and can severely disrupt our modern technological infrastructure, including power grids, satellites, GPS navigation, and global communications. The leading theory on how the Sun builds up magnetic energy is called “flux braiding.” As magnetic field lines twist around each other—like braiding hair—they create a tense, unstable setup. When that tension gets rapidly released, the tangled magnetic lines “snap”, cross over each other, and reconnect in new shapes (a process called “magnetic reconnection”). This sudden rearrangement releases a burst of energy as the system settles into a calmer, lower-energy state. What scientists don’t fully understand yet is what causes the twisting and braiding to happen in the first place.