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This is among the first images of the chromosphere — the area of the sun’s atmosphere above the surface — taken with the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on June 3. The telescope marked its inauguration Aug. 31, officials said earlier this week. — Photo courtesy of the National Science Foundation

While people flock to total solar eclipses to get a brief glimpse of the sun’s inner corona, the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope is capable of doing that every day.

“People travel all over the world to follow an eclipse and get three minutes of … data. We kind of try to do that every day,” said Thomas Rimmele, project director of the DKIST atop Haleakala. “Because we built an instrument that can measure the corona’s magnetic fields and other physical parameters, like temperature, velocity and so on.”

The DKIST is the world’s most powerful solar telescope and has produced many firsts, such as the first images of the sun’s chromosphere, the area of the sun’s atmosphere above the surface. It has also taken the most detailed image of the sun, which was released in 2020.

On Aug. 31, a delegation of U.S. National Science Foundation leaders, congressional dignitaries and members of both the scientific and Native Hawaiian communities gathered near the summit of Haleakala to commemorate the inauguration of the DKIST, which was years in the making.

The image produced in 2020 came from the telescope’s first light campaign, which was the first use of the telescope to capture an image, said Evan Pascual, the communications and public information specialist with the National Solar Observatory that manages the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope.

Dressed in clean room attire, members of the inauguration delegation visit the Inouye Solar Telescope’s instrument laboratory, called the Coudé Lab. Optical components of the telescope’s cameras can be seen in the foreground. — Photo courtesy of the National Science Foundation

The telescope’s construction was completed in December 2021, followed by the start of the science “Operations Commissioning Phase” in February, about a 12-month process where the telescope is bought fully online, Pascual said.

The telescope is already running scientific proposals, which involves conducting sun observations for the scientific community. As the Operations Commissioning Phase continues, the images will continue to improve, Pascual said.

“Because of corona (virus) we had to postpone this inauguration until now. But it really feels still great. It was a great event,” said Rimmele, who splits his time between Maui and Colorado.

The U.S. National Science Foundation’s DKIST is operated by the National Solar Observatory, a federally funded research and development center focused on solar research, under management by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, according to a news release.

NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan said the telescope “will forever change the way we explore and understand our sun. Its insights will transform how our nation, and the planet, predict and prepare for events like solar storms.”

A delegation of National Science Foundation leaders, congressional dignitaries and members of both the scientific and Native Hawaiian communities gathered at the foundation’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope to recognize the telescope’s inauguration on Aug. 31. — Photo courtesy of the National Science Foundation

Matt Mountain, AURA president, thanked the people of Hawaii “for the privilege of operating from this remarkable site,” and also thanked NSF and U.S. Congress, along with the telescope team.

The telescope is located at the 10,000-foot summit of Haleakala and cost around $340 million. It relies on a 13-foot mirror and an elaborate cooling system to hone in on the sun’s roiling surface.

The telescope can also help scientists keep an eye on the sun and figure out when it might create a massive burst of energy, astronomers previously explained. It also will allow them to understand how magnetism changes the brightness of the sun and how that in turn impacts the Earth temperatures and climate change.

On Friday evening from Colorado, Rimmele said the telescope already has collected data for more than 20 proposals that were chosen from among its first call for proposals.

A second proposal call has been issued and like the first round, the amount of proposals were overwhelming. The telescope will begin taking data for chosen proposals in the fall, Rimmele said.

The types of data and observations that scientists from around the world are seeking includes observing solar eruptions such as flares along with measuring the magnetic field in the corona.

“We essentially take data that community scientists are asking for,” Rimmele said.

The telescope has also conduced initial coordinated solar observations with NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and ESA/NASA’s Solar Orbiter.

The telescope atop Haleakala has also drawn criticism throughout its development process, as some Native Hawaiian advocacy groups have said the telescope would desecrate a summit that many consider sacred. The telescope has been challenged in court as far back as 2009, and demonstrators also attempted to block delivery of parts to the summit during construction. The Hawaii Supreme Court ultimately upheld a permit for the telescope in 2016.

As part of a mitigation plan, the NSF awarded a $20 million grant to University of Hawaii Maui College to engage Native Hawaiian students in pursuing STEM careers.

“We have been working with the Hawaiian community for decades now,” Rimmele said.

He pointed to the telescope’s Native Hawaiian Working Group, which has educated NSF and NSO staff about cultural issues and provided cultural input throughout the telescope’s construction.

“Some of them I would consider them good colleagues at this point. Not that they agree. The opposition is there still. They don’t agree with the telescope, but at least we can have over many years now, have a conversation, talk to each other, respect each other,” Rimmele said.

He said there are also Native Hawaiian staff members who work at the telescope as well.

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.

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