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    The sun shows its face every day, but an amazing new telescope is giving us a whole different view of it. And guess what? Our familiar friend in the sky has some impressive features! Seen from the earth without a fancy telescope, the sun resembles a pale disc, sort of like a big sugar cookie shining in the sky. However, in detailed photos and video captured by the new telescope, the sun's surface looks lumpy (块状的) and bumpy.

    The incredible instrument responsible for these eye-popping images is the Daniel K. Inouye

    Solar Telescope (DKIST), the most powerful solar telescope in the world. A project of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the telescope is named after a U.S. politician who represented the state of Hawaii, which is home to the high-tech, high-resolution wonder.

    The DKIST is at the summit of Haleakalā on the island of Maui, which is…a volcano! While that might sound like a risky place for a $344-million observatory toperch, the volcano is extinct. What's more, the combination of high elevation, low air disturbance, and deep blue skies make it an ideal location to study the sun. Modern astronomers (天文学家) aren't the first to recognize that Haleakalā has a special connection to the sun—ancient Hawaiians were way ahead of them. The summit of Haleakalā is admired by native Hawaiians, who gave the place its name, which means "House of the Sun."

    Now, after being under construction for about ten years, the DKIST is sunbathing in this storeyed spot. When the telescope's first videos and photos were posted, they blew up on social media like a superstar, but the NSF has much bigger goals than going viral. The astronomers want to study the surface of the sun to better predict solar weather.

    Why on earth would people want a weather forecast for a place that's more than 145 million kilometers away? Because events on the surface of the sun can end up affecting us right here at home. Solar weather can disable satellite systems and GPS tracking systems and even cause blackouts, in which large areas temporarily lose electricity. In 2017, solar flares（耀斑）disabled radio communications as three hurricanes were bearing down on the Caribbean. As you can imagine, that was a huge blow to emergency response efforts.

    By studying the images the DKIST captures, scientists hope to learn how to predict solar weather events in time for people to take precautions and prevent disasters. In the meantime, we can all enjoy getting an eye-opening new view of the sun!