The unique scientific capabilities of the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope

The 4 m Advance Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) will be the most powerful solar telescope and the world’s leading resource for studying solar magnetism that controls the solar wind, flares, coronal mass ejections and variability in the Sun’s output. We provide an overview of the science goals and observational requirements of the ATST and a brief summary of the design status of the telescope and its instrumentation.