Magnetic fields of Earth and Sun: Space mission

Space is a better vacuum than any we can create on Earth, but it does contain some particles—and it’s bustling with activity. It overflows with energy and a complex system of magnetic fields. Sometimes, when two sets of magnetic fields connect, an explosive reaction occurs: As the magnetic fields re-align and snap into a new formation they send particles zooming off in jets.

A new paper printed on May 12, 2016, in Science provides the first observations from inside a magnetic reconnection event. The research shows that magnetic reconnection is dominated by the physics of electrons—thus providing crucial information about what powers this fundamental process in nature.

The effects of this sudden release of particles and energy—such as giant eruptions on the sun, the aurora, radiation storms in near-Earth space, high energy cosmic particles that come from other galaxies—have been observed throughout the solar system and beyond. But we have never been able to witness the phenomenon of magnetic reconnection directly. Satellites have observed tantalizing glances of particles speeding by, but not the impetus—like seeing the debris flung out from a tornado, but never seeing the storm itself.