Solar Magnetic Field Braids May Have a Previously Hidden Cause

Eventually, those solar braids snap, and then reconnect. Now, the "hidden" processes have been revealed by the DKIST images: dozens of vortex-like structures lined up along the edges of the magnetic regions on the Sun. A simulated map of the Sun’s surface magnetic field (bottom right) confirms that these processes physically bend and deform the boundaries of the magnetic elements. This should give solar physicists a good idea of the amount of energy the KHI-braiding process moves from the surface to the solar atmosphere. For More InformationNSF Inouye Solar Telescope Enables Major Discovery of a Hidden Solar ProcessUbiquitous Kelvin–Helmholtz Instabilities Driving Plasma Mixing on the Sun