NASA's Parker Solar Probe has detected a hidden magnetic reversal in the solar wind, the stream of charged particles flowing outward from the Sun. The observations, reported in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, show that the magnetic field in this plasma twists in opposite directions at different scales, a pattern that had gone unnoticed until now.
The study was led by Masatomi Iizawa of Technische Universität Braunschweig, with researchers from ten countries, including teams at the University of Tokyo and the universities of Tohoku, Kyushu and Osaka. The measurements were taken about 93 million miles from the Sun. At that distance, the researchers found that the large-scale magnetic field rotates counterclockwise, while smaller-scale structures rotate clockwise when viewed from above.
The reversal appears at the point where the plasma changes character, shifting from fluid-like behavior to motion governed by individual particles. As the solar wind moves outward, the wavelength of the reversal grows longer, which suggests the pattern evolves as the plasma travels through space.
The work matters because turbulence in the solar wind helps drive shock waves and magnetic clouds that can trigger geomagnetic storms on Earth. Better understanding of how that turbulence is organized could sharpen forecasting models that warn of disruptions to satellites, power grids and communications. The researchers say a similar pattern may also occur in Earth's magnetosphere and in accretion disks around other astronomical objects.
The exact mechanism that produces this organized pattern remains unclear, and the team's next task is to determine what sets the reversal in motion.
Credit. Based on reporting for archynewsy.com. Is this your work? Write to us.
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