Sharper Image

A 10-minute rocket ride brought back the most detailed pictures of the sun ever taken.

Hi-C could only observe a small part of the sun at once, but captured images five times more detailed than those from SDO.

Weighing 464 pounds, the six-foot-long Hi-C telescope took 165 images during its brief, 620-second flight.

Scientists have worked for the better part of a decade to design, build and test the Hi-C optics (shown above).

Launched from New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range, the Hi-C payload and subsystems rest on the desert floor after parachuting back to Earth.

Members of the Hi-C team pose with the payload in the desert.