Organization profile

The Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research operates Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) in California, which houses the highest-resolution solar optical telescope in the world at 1.6 meters. With its state-of-the-art adaptive optics and scientific instrumentation, the telescope obtains high-resolution views of the Sun’s surface features, such as sunspots, filaments, faculae, granulation, spicules and jets. Its instruments measure the magnetic fields and motions of these features to understand the basic physics of solar activity that affect the Earth and near-Earth technological systems. Through the BBSO telescope, NJIT scientists have explored how twisted magnetic fields interact to produce the sudden release of energy that powers solar flares, and the response of the solar plasma to such energy releases. Using data from multiple NASA solar spacecraft and advanced computer modeling, we are developing an understanding of fundamental processes that improve our ability to predict the occurrence and outcomes of such solar activity on the Earth.