Using the NSF’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope, scientists have made a breakthrough in solar physics. Working with computer simulations, they identified the signature of Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI), tiny whirlpool-like swirls, on the Sun’s surface. This diffusive mechanism is the basis of models of solar magnetic activity evolution, and thus this physics can also be applied to other stars. “The Sun’s magnetic field is generated by dynamo processes that act like giant cosmic engines that turn the star’s rotational energy into magnetic fields. However, because the solar magnetic cycle is only 11 years, a remarkably rapid timescale in cosmic terms, the generated magnetic flux must dissipate efficiently.”