In order to study the Sun at unprecedented high resolution the European research consortium plans to build a new generation solar telescope EST with a 4-m aperture. Russia is also involved in the project preparation, and it is Skoltech that represents the country. A research team led by Tatiana Podladchikova, assistant professor at Skoltech Space Center, as part of the European Union’s Science and Innovation Horizon 2020 program, is conducting research for the SOLARNET project, which is dedicated to preparing for the implementation and creation of a European Solar Telescope. Remarkable is the fact that a high-performance Skoltech cluster is used.
Every single second, Sun fuses 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium. During this reaction, the Sun converts 4 million tons of matter into energy. This energy gives us light, heat, and creates a very great environment for life on Earth. But at the same time, the Sun is the source of powerful eruptions that create strong disturbances on Earth and near-earth environment.
We still have many more steps to take to understand the Sun and Sun-Earth relations. How do sunspots develop? How does the Sun’s magnetic field create the 11-year solar cycle? What causes solar flares and powerful coronal mass ejections? What drives solar wind and the acceleration of solar wind particles? Why the solar atmosphere is...