A recent study by the Southwest Research Institute confirms that models of the Sun’s magnetic field behavior developed a decade ago remain valid. The Parker Solar Probe, which has come closer to the Sun than any other Earth probe, revealed new insights into the turbulent life of the Sun’s magnetic field.
Scientists had long sought evidence for the process of magnetic reconnection in the Sun, but previous models were based on limited observations and lacked validation. The Parker Solar Probe’s record-breaking approach in September 2022 provided a unique opportunity to study the properties of plasma and the magnetic field in detail.
Using a combination of in-situ imaging and diagnostic techniques, as well as additional observations from the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter, the team confirmed that the Parker Solar Probe flew through the reconnection region of the solar atmosphere for the first time. This finding provides a crucial link between Earth-scale reconnection and solar-scale reconnection.
The study suggests that magnetic reconnection mechanisms accompanied by turbulence or oscillations and waves in magnetic fields may be present in regions identified as having active reconnection by the Parker Solar Probe. Further research is needed to determine the role of these factors in shaping our understanding of the Sun’s magnetic field behavior.
Source: https://universemagazine.com/en/parker-solar-probe-confirms-old-models-of-the-suns-magnetic-field