New research shows how the Sun's magnetic field can shift when it approaches Earth, which can throw off space weather forecasts.
the Sun
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Plasma Waves Pinpointed at the Site of Magnetic Reconnection
When the Earth's and the Sun's magnetic fields meet, they realign in explosive and mysterious reconnections. Data suggest that plasma waves called kinetic Alfvén waves play a key role.
Posted inNews
Scientists Get First Glimpse of Solar Wind as It Forms
Using computer-processed images from Sun-watching satellites, scientists observed solar wind emerging from the Sun's corona.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Spotting the Source of Slow Solar Wind
A new study suggests that magnetic reconnection may fuel slow solar winds, which top out at speeds below 500 kilometers per second.
Posted inEditors' Vox
First Results from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
Understanding magnetic reconnection is important in the context of Sun-Earth Connection, because of the resulting exchange of mass and energy, and the large amount of energy involved.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Chasing Down the Slow Solar Wind
The Sun's plasma blasts Earth’s magnetosphere at more than a million miles per hour. The fastest pours from holes in the corona, but until recently the source of the "slow" solar wind was a mystery.
Posted inNews
James Wynne Dungey (1923–2015)
Dungey, whose research laid the foundation for how the Sun's magnetic field connects to Earth's magnetic field, died on 9 May 2015. He was 92.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Satellites Test Theory of Magnetic Reconnection
A quartet of satellites flying through Earth's magnetic field measures its interaction with the Sun's and puts a theory about their reconnection to the test.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Sun's Magnetic Field Impacts Earth's Thunderstorms
Lightning strikes are more frequent when Earth encounters a polarity switch in the solar magnetic field.
Posted inNews
Physics Nobel Winners Also Solved Solar Mystery
Although they won the prize for showing neutrinos have mass, the two Nobel-winning physicists also solved a long-standing mystery of solar neutrinos.