A telescope designed to help us stare at the sun has produced unprecedented images of the star’s surface that could pave the way for a future where disruptive solar flares are predicted days ahead of their impact.

The first images from the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) in Hawaii — which is twice the size of the next largest solar scope — have captured an array of cell-like structures that cover the surface of the sun, each taking up space roughly the size of the US state of Texas.

It is hoped that by focussing on these areas, scientists may be better able to predict changes in the sun’s surface — including solar flares that can knock out power grids and put satellites at risk.

France Córdova, National Science Foundation (NSF) director, said: “Since NSF began work on this ground-based telescope, we have eagerly awaited the first images.

“We can now share these images and videos, which are the most detailed of our Sun to date. NSF’s Inouye Solar Telescope will be able to map the magnetic fields within the Sun’s corona, where solar eruptions occur that can impact life on Earth.

Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Show all 9 1 /9 Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Soap bubble structures showing light interference colours and patterning Bubbles want to optimise space and minimise their surface area for a given volume of air. This unique phenomenon makes them a reliable, useful tool in many areas of research. In particular, materials science and 'packing' - how things fit together. Bubble walls drain under gravity, thin at the top, thick at the bottom and interferes with travelling lightwaves to create bands of colour. Black spots show the wall is too thin for interference colours, indicating the bubble is about to burst! - Kym Cox Kym Cox/RPS Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Upside down Jelly fish, Cassiopea xamachana Instead of swimming, this species spends its time pulsing up and down in the water. Their diet is sea plankton and their coloration comes from the uptake of algae in the water. Some jellyfish species have been documented eating plastics in the ocean. One theory suggests that algae grows on the plastic. As it breaks down, the algae creates the odor of dimethyl sulfide that attracts hungry animals. - Mary Anne Chilton Mary Anne Chilton/RPS Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Tribolium confusum. Confused flour beetle. This small beetle is a pest in stored grain and flour products. Scanning electron micrograph, coloured in Photoshop. - David Spears David Spears/RPS Science Photographer of the Year shortlist NGC7000 North American Nebula The North America Nebula, NGC7000, is an emission nebula in the constellation Cygnus, close to Deneb. The remarkable shape of the nebula resembles that of the continent of North America, complete with a prominent Gulf of Mexico. The Cygnus Wall, a term for the "Mexico and Central America part" of the North America Nebula, exhibits the most concentrated star formations in the nebula. - Dave Watson Dave Watson/RPS Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Safety Corona A safety pin is connected to a high tension AC generator. The pin ionizes the air around it. When the electrons fall back on an atom, the excess energy is emitted as a photon, which generate the corona glow around the pin. The fuzziness of the pin is because the camera did not actually capture light reflected on the pin but rather the light emitted by the ionized light around it. - Richard Germain Richard Germain/RPS Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Calmness of Eternity Himalayas mountains, Nepal. Gosaikunda high-mountain lake. Point of shooting - 4400m. The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy with a diameter between 150,000 and 200,000 light-years. It is estimated to contain 100‚ 400 billion stars Yevhen Samuchenko Yevhen Samuchenko/RPS Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Stag beetle Stag beetle. Light microscopy. Magnification 5x. - Viktor Sykora Viktor Sykora/RPS Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Mapping1_OxygenIb_PEM Final Major Project for an MA Photography Falmouth University. Project: Mapping 1, Post Exertional Malaise. Mapping 1, focuses on discovering the research behind Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Through exploration of perspective, complexities, and scientific multidisciplinary collaborations, I create imagery that explains, reveals and connects us consciously to the ambiguous and unknown. - Yasmin Crawford Yasmin Crawford/RPS Science Photographer of the Year shortlist Lovell Telescope Series 1c I have always been fascinated with the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank since I went on a school trip as a child. Here, I wanted to take a series of closer, more detailed and more honest shots than we often see. Exploring the multitude of shapes and exposing the wear of the telescope, each photo in the series stands alone or can be viewed collectively, either way, they present a powerful portrayal of machine that helps humankind in their endeavours to understand space and time. - Marge Bradshaw Marge Bradshaw/RPS

“This telescope will improve our understanding of what drives space weather and ultimately help forecasters better predict solar storms.”

Among the tasks ahead of the telescope is working to understand why the sun’s corona, the atmosphere around the outside of the star, is so much hotter than its surface.

“It’s all about the magnetic field,” said Thomas Rimmele, director of the DKIST.

“To unravel the Sun’s biggest mysteries, we have to not only be able to clearly see these tiny structures from 93 million miles away but very precisely measure their magnetic field strength and direction near the surface and trace the field as it extends out into the million-degree corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun.”

The telescope will now be readied to focus on the stellar object when the sunspots of the latest solar cycle build towards their maximum with support from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which will dip into the sun’s atmosphere.

It comes after the telescope faced opposition from locals in Hawaii, who had sought to preserve the island of Maui’s Haleakalā summit as a sacred site.