See the Sun like never before with most detailed images yet

Scientists using the world's most powerful solar telescope have captured the surface of our Sun in new, unprecedented detail.

Images and footage show "whirlpools" of activity that it has not been possible to see before.

It is the Sun's magnetic field being twisted and moved by the motion of hot gas.

That constant swirling is a driving force behind bursts of energy from the Sun, creating so-called space weather, that can disrupt Earth's power grids and satellites, and could even injure astronauts.

"The Sun is the source of that energy and of all of that space weather," explained Dr David Boboltz from the US National Solar Observatory (NSO).

Capturing more detailed pictures of our solar system's star will help in responding to that weather, he said.

"To figure out and eventually predict space weather, we want to understand the physics of the Sun, all the way down to the smallest scales."