Hi again:
2) Solar telescopes are getting bigger and better, and spatial resolution has got to the point that we can really zoom in on the Sun's surface and atmosphere. Just take a look at this image:
http://www.solarphysics.kva.se/
Some of this is because of very large telescopes, and some because of "adaptive optics" which compensate for the difficulties raised by the Earth's atmosphere above the ground-based telescopes, see for example
http://www.sciencedaily.c.../10/051010094317.htm
Space telescopes get some nice images (and movies!) too -- in general, the really big telescopes don't go up in space (too expensive!) but the atmosphere is not a problem, and also wavelengths of light such as extreme ultraviolet and soft Xray, which are not accessible from the ground because of the Earth's atmosphere, can be viewed from there. The results are pretty amazing, see
http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/...hots.php?v=item&id=1
The BIG solar telescope of the future will be the Advanced Technology Space Telescope, or ATST, which will be built in Hawaii and is expected to be ready for viewing in 2017. It will have a 4 meter main mirror, and be the largest solar telescope in the world. As such, it will have the best spatial resolution ever, showing features smaller than 70 km wide at the solar surface.