Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2017

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 33 SPACE CHRONICLES dustrial institutions from 15 differ- ent European countries. European astronomers have studied the Sun for centuries. Starting with Galileo Galilei, many solar physicists have helped unravel its secrets with the most advanced instrumentation at their disposal. Thanks to those ef- forts we now know the structure and composition of our star. How- ever, some important questions re- main unanswered. Among them is the role played by solar magnetic fields, which are thought to be re- sponsible for the most energetic pro- cesses happening in the solar atmo- sphere. To address these questions, a next-generation telescope is needed. EST will have a 4-meter primary mir- ror and an advanced adaptive optics system − a technology designed to reduce the image distortions caused by the Earth’s turbulent atmosphere. Thus, EST will be able to distinguish structures on the solar surface as small as 30 kilometers. 3D model of the future European Solar Tele- scope (EST). [Gabriel Pérez Díaz, IAC (SMM)]