Artificial intelligence helps NCAR scientists “see” the poles of the Sun

Artificial intelligence has created images of parts of the Sun that have never been seen before, reports Newsweek.

The experiment was conducted by researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado. Within its framework, scientists were able to see the poles of the Sun.

The fact is that until now, humanity has been able to observe how a star looks from the side. Even satellite missions sent to study the Sun did not give an idea of what its poles look like.

“The best way to see the solar poles is obviously to send more satellites, but that is very expensive,” noted the authors of the study.

So the scientists turned to artificial intelligence. They uploaded two-dimensional images of the star to the AI, which turned them into a three-dimensional reconstruction that showed temporal changes on the surface of the Sun.

After the AI learned to accurately reconstruct the appearance of the Sun for the visible parts, the team asked it to extrapolate the appearance of the poles. The result gives a more complete picture of the star and helps to understand how its radiation can affect power grids, satellites, and radio communications.

Scientists warn that the model created with the help of artificial intelligence is only an “educated guess,” but it can help in the future study of the Sun.