Discover How a New Solar Orbiting Spacecraft Connects Magnetic Avalanches to Solar Flares

Spacecraft captures the "magnetic avalanche" that triggers giant solar explosions

New observations reveal how solar flares really ignite—and why they can be so powerful. Solar Orbiter has captured the clearest evidence yet that a solar flare grows through a cascading “magnetic avalanche.” Small, weak magnetic disturbances rapidly multiplied, triggering stronger and stronger explosions that accelerated particles to extreme speeds. The process produced streams of glowing […] The post Spacecraft captures the “magnetic avalanche”…

Discover How a New Solar Orbiting Spacecraft Connects Magnetic Avalanches to Solar Flares

Recent high-resolution findings from ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission provide groundbreaking insights into solar flares. These explosive events are triggered by cascading magnetic reconnection processes, releasing immense energy and “raining down” plasma clumps into the Sun’s atmosphere. Detailed overview of M-class solar flares as observed by ESA’s solar probes. Image credit: ESA / Solar Orbiter / [...] The post Discover How a New Solar Orbiting Spa…