The plasma vortices were revealed through observations from the NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii, the world’s largest solar telescope, combined with advanced computer simulations. “To detect the vortices, we needed to resolve structures on the solar surface about 20 kilometers in size. Vortices may twist magnetic fieldsThe tiny vortices could help resolve a longstanding question about how the Sun stores energy in its magnetic field and later releases it, sometimes through small bursts of radiation called nanoflares. Because they seem to occur continually in locations where the magnetic field is sufficiently strong, the swirling plasma could routinely drive the twisting process. This matters because the Sun’s magnetic activity changes on an eleven-year cycle, an unusually fast transformation on cosmic timescales.