Observations with new mountain bike camera technology offer 8K image resolution

Large and complex Sun Spot Groups characterize the dynamic sun surface during its activity cycle. A new camera system with the Vacuum Tower (mountain bike) telescope of the observatoro del teide on Tenerife uses image restoration methods to capture small structures in active areas.

This has resulted in unique high -resolution images that reveal the smallest details in the active regions of the surface of the sun. Research is published in the newspaper Solar physics.

Large solar telescopes can observe the smallest details on the surface of the sun, but only in a small field of vision. Consequently, they lack large -scale development of active regions. Smaller telescopes in space or in Terrest spanning networks magnetic field.

This is where the Vacuum Tower Telescope (VTT) on Tenerife, which has been in operation since 1988, comes into play. It is characterized by a large field of vision and a good spatial resolution, thus filling the gap between these two types of telescopes.

With the help of the new modern cameras system from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP), the entire field of VTT vision has now been restored for the first time. For a restored image, 100 short -term exposure images with 8,000 × 6,000 pixels are necessary, which are recorded at 25 frames per second.

This means that the camera system provides for the first time rebuilt images with 8K image resolution. The sequence of rapid images makes it possible to eliminate the disturbing influences of the turbulent atmosphere of the earth of solar images.

Consequently, the theoretical spatial resolution of the 100 km telescope on the surface of the sun can be obtained. Accelerated recordings of restored images also make it possible to study the dynamic processes on time ladders of 20 seconds.

The new camera system completes the Heliostic interferometric system of large region (Hellride), the Absolute Reference Spectrograph Laser (LARS) and the Fast Multi-Ligne Universal Spectrrographer (Famulus) with mountain biking, which are exploited by the observator of the state of Thuringia, TAUTENBUR (TLS), respect for solar physics (KIS) (TLS), respectively.

“In order to better understand solar activity, it is crucial not only to analyze the fundamental processes of the fine structure and long -term development of global activity with various instruments”, explains Rolf Schlichenmaier, scientist of the KIS “, but also to study the temporal evolution of the magnetic domain in active regions.”

The new images show areas which correspond to approximately 1/7 of the sun diameter, that is to say around 200,000 km. This makes it possible to observe the large -scale structures of the active sun such as the movements of the plasma and the groups of solar spots. In comparison, large telescopes generally only provide image fields of around 75,000 km in diameter.

“Our expectations of the camera system were more than fulfilled from the start,” said Robert Kamlah, who carried out the project as part of his doctoral thesis at AIP and the University of Potsdam.

The observations in G-band have demonstrated how solar spots are anchored in supergranulation, that is to say a convective large-scale model. The non -radial orientation and the torsion of the shortened filaments revealed the structure of the complex magnetic field, which was responsible for three major rockets and numerous minor rockets in the active region.

Using special filters, the smallest magnetic field signatures become visible in the form of light structures in solar images. The chronological series in light of the individual ionized calcium line at 393.3 nm and in the G Fraunhofer gang at 430.7 nm made it possible to identify the areas with increased activity and the monitoring of plasma movements in active regions in two layers of the solar atmosphere (photosphere and transition to chromosphere). In addition, researchers have studied methods for measuring image quality and observation.

“The results obtained show how, with our partners, we teach an old telescope New tips, ”explains Carsten Denker, head of the AIP telescopes solar physics section such as mountain biking can make important contributions to the study of solar activityEspecially when information on a large active region and its environment must be captured, such as during solar eruptions and other eruptive events in the context of space weather forecast.

In the future, low -cost CMOS cameras systems with 8K image resolution will also play an important role for the next generation of instruments on solar telescopes of 4 meters, as they will triple the field of vision of current 4K camera systems.