Observations of Fine Coronal Structures with High-Order Solar Adaptive Optics

We present observations with coronal adaptive optics reaching the diffraction limit of the 1.6-m Goode Solar Telescope to reveal very fine details of cool plasma in the corona outside the solar disk. Furthermore, we discovered a short-lived, fast-moving, finely twisted feature occurring during the decay phase of a flare that quickly destabilized. Coronal adaptive optics increased the spatial resolution by an order of magnitude at visible wavelengths. We report here a large portion of off-limb coronal rain material with observed scales below 100 km. This new adaptive optics scheme opens opportunities for observational discoveries at small scales beyond the solar limb in the highly dynamic corona by exploiting the diffraction limit of large ground-based telescopes.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02564-0

https://nso.edu/press-release/new-adaptive-optics-shows-stunning-details-of-our-stars-atmosphere/