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Why Do We Study The Sun?

The Sun: center of our solar system. It is a stable star that can affect climate on Earth and is powered by nuclear fusion (hydrogen into helium + energy) in its core. Ninety-three million miles away, the Sun's immense mass compresses and heats its core, while convection in the outer layers generates a powerful magnetic dynamo. Magnetic activity erupts through the visible surface causes spots, flares, mass ejections, and solar wind that all generate space weather. It is quite marvelous.

Solar research as a science grew out of a need to better understand the sun, our nearest star, and its effect on the Earth's atmosphere and interplanetary space. Among the stars, the sun is the only example accessible for detailed study, where we can see structures and processes that are unobservable in any other star. Thus solar astronomy also serves the study of stellar interiors and atmospheres.

The telescopes at Sunspot Solar Observatory are used to study the mysteries behind the mechanisms that drive and control solar magnetism and variability. Studying the Sun allows astronomers to better understand the effects its internal processes have on our planet. That is the reason why the U.S. Air Force sought out a place at Sacramento Peak to build solar telescopes: to study how the Sun affects life on Earth.

Today, we continue collecting significant data from the sun using the Richard B. Dunn Solar Telescope. That data continues to unveil surprising mysteries to scientists, like the impressive quantity of tornadoes on the Sun and the movement of matter during a solar flare.