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Solar Orbiter tracks origin of mysterious magnetic switchbacks

Science · en

Solar Orbiter tracks origin of mysterious magnetic switchbacks

European Space Agency · Official source · Oct 8, 2026, 9:00 AM UTC

The European Space Agency-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has flown through an S-shaped kink known as a ‘switchback’ in the solar wind’s magnetic field. By fingerprinting the elusive particles within the switchback, Solar Orbiter has traced its origin back to the Sun’s surface and revealed more about solar magnetism – the unruly instigator of dangerous solar…