Unveiling the Sun in Unprecedented Detail
The 4.2-m European Solar Telescope (EST) will be the world’s largest ground-based optical research infrastructure for transforming our understanding of the Sun.
It will tackle major questions about magnetized plasma in the Sun, uncover the physics of solar variability, and greatly improve forecasts of solar activity and its effects on Earth, including space weather and climate.
EST will feature the most advanced instrumentation based on the cutting-edge technology. It will feature active and multi-conjugate adaptive optics (MCAO), fast multi-spectral imaging, and a unique suit of high-resolution and high-sensitivity spectropolarimeters: Integral-Field Spectropolarimeters (IFS) and Tunable Imaging Spectropolarimeters (TIS).
EST will generate massive datasets, 1-2 PB/day and up to 12 EB over 30 years, making it a major Big Data facility. A multi-node EST data center (EST DC) will use advanced tools such as artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and a distributed virtual research environment (VRE) for processing, managing, and analyzing EST data.
Key Capabilities: EST is optimized to observe the Sun’s magnetic field from the deep photosphere up to the upper chromosphere. By combining a large primary mirror with a powerful MCAO and cutting-edge instrumentation, EST will be able to distinguish features on the solar surface as small as 30 kilometers.
A European Effort: The project unites top solar physics research groups from across the European continent. Its main goal is to provide the European scientific community with the tools necessary to solve the long-standing question of how the solar atmosphere is heated and how magnetic fields control solar activity/space weather.