Decades-old theories about magnetic reconnection have been confirmed by new research led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). The data was captured by NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which flew through the sun’s upper atmosphere. Magnetic reconnection is a process that releases stored magnetic energy, causing solar flares and other space weather phenomena.
According to Dr. Ritesh Patel, lead author of the research published in Nature Astronomy, magnetic reconnection occurs when magnetic field lines sever and reconnect, releasing large amounts of energy. This process can affect technology on Earth, including satellites, communication systems, and power grids.
The Parker Solar Probe’s record-breaking proximity to the sun enabled new opportunities for study. A recent approach revealed a huge eruption, providing an opportunity to image and sample the plasma and magnetic field properties in detail. The SwRI-led team confirmed that PSP had flown through a reconnection region in the solar atmosphere for the first time.
The research validates numerical simulation models that have existed for decades with some degree of uncertainty. The data will serve as strong constraints for future models, providing a path to understand PSP’s solar measurements from other timeframes and events.
This study connects Earth-scale reconnection to solar-scale reconnection, allowing researchers to see how energy is transferred and particles are accelerated. Understanding these processes at the sun can help better predict solar activity and improve our understanding of the near-Earth environment.
The research provides a significant step forward in understanding magnetic reconnection, a phenomenon that has been studied for almost 70 years. The findings will have implications for predicting space weather events that can impact technology on Earth.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-08-parker-solar-probe-decades-theoretical.html