The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), located in Hawaii, is the world's most powerful ground-based solar telescope. Operated by the National Solar...
DKIST stands for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. It is named after the late U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye from Hawaii, who was a strong supporter of the project.
The DKIST is located at the summit of Haleakalā volcano on the island of Maui, Hawaii. This site was chosen for its exceptional atmospheric clarity and minimal light pollution.
Its primary purpose is to study the Sun's magnetic fields and plasma with unprecedented detail, providing high-resolution observations of the solar surface and atmosphere to improve our understanding of space weather and solar physics.
DKIST has produced the highest-resolution images ever taken of the Sun's surface, revealing features like plasma 'boiling' cells and magnetic structures in extraordinary detail, previously unseen with such clarity.
The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope is operated by the National Solar Observatory (NSO), a federally funded research and development center managed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA).