Thanks to the hard work of two vigilant astronomers, one of the great mysteries surrounding solar magnetic fields is a mystery no longer.

The two scientists, David McKenzie of Montana State University at Bozeman and Hugh Hudson of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Japan, have witnessed for the first time evidence of a mysterious solar phenomenon long thought to exist, but never before seen. Known to experts as "magnetic-field line shrinkage" or "reconnection outflow," the behavior involves magnetic fields snapping back to the sun as if being pulled and then released like a rubber band.

"This is the motion weve been looking for, and now weve been able to spot it," said McKenzie.

Posted by Jay Roberts at 07:38 PM | Permalink