With fresh data from its closest pass of the Sun thus far, the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft has found compelling clues as to the origin of solar magnetic switchbacks. The discovery points toward how their physical formation mechanism might help accelerate the solar wind. Solar Orbiter has ma
A magnetic phenomenon known as solar switchbacks has been imaged by the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft for the first time. The image zooms in on the switchback as captured in the solar corona by the Metis instrument on March 25, 2022. The switchback appears to be linked to the active region seen in the central Extreme Ultraviolet Imager image . Credit: ESA & NASA/Solar Orbiter/EUI & Metis Teams and D. Telloni et al.
These magnetic structures were also probed at much larger distances from the Sun by the Ulysses spacecraft in the late 1990s. Instead of a third of the Earth’s orbital radius from the Sun, where the Helios missions made their closest pass, Ulysses operated mostly beyond the Earth’s orbit. At around 20:39 UT, Metis recorded an image of the solar corona that showed a distorted S-shaped kink in the coronal plasma. To Daniele Telloni, National Institute for Astrophysics – Astrophysical Observatory of Torino, Italy, it looked suspiciously like a solar switchback.
ESA’s Solar Orbiter has solved the mystery of a magnetic phenomenon in the solar wind. It has taken the first-ever image of a ‘switchback’ in the solar corona, confirming its predicted ‘S’ shape. A switchback is defined by rapid flips in the magnetic field direction. The observed switchback is linked to an active region associated with sunspots and magnetic activity where there is an interaction between open and closed magnetic field lines.
Metis observation of the switchback is consistent with the sound theoretical mechanism for the production of solar magnetic switchbacks proposed in 2020 by Prof. Gary Zank. The key observation was that the switchback could be seen emanated from above a solar active region. This sequence shows the chain of events that the researchers think is taking place. Active regions on the Sun can feature open and closed magnetic field lines.
“I would say that this first image of a magnetic switchback in the solar corona has revealed the mystery of their origin,” says Daniele, whose results are published in a paper inIn understanding switchbacks, solar physicists may also be taking a step toward understanding the details of how the solar wind is accelerated and heated away from the Sun. This is because when spacecraft fly through switchbacks, they often register a localized acceleration of the solar wind.
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