Magnetic switchback
Videos
Magnetic switchbacks are sudden reversals in the magnetic field of the solar wind. They can also be described as traveling disturbances in the solar wind that caused the magnetic field to bend back on itself. They were first observed by the NASA-ESA mission Ulysses, the first spacecraft to fly over the Sun's poles. NASA's Parker Solar Probe and NASA/ESA Solar Orbiter both observed switchbacks.
Switchback theories infographic from NASA
Illustration of global magnetic field circulation enabled by interchange reconnection. In this scenario an open magnetic field line is (A) dragged against a large coronal loop, by global circulation in the corona, (B) undergoes interchange reconnection, and (C) effectively jumps the approximate width of the originally closed loop, launching an S-shaped switchback in the magnetic field into the corona.
Close to the Sun, and especially above active regions, there are open and closed magnetic field lines. The closed lines are loops of magnetism that arch up into the solar atmosphere before curving round and disappearing back into the Sun.
Solar Orbiter
Videos
The Solar Orbiter (SolO) is a Sun-observing probe developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contribution. Solar Orbiter, designed to obtain detailed measurements of the inner heliosphere and the nascent solar wind, will also perform close observations of the polar regions of the Sun which is difficult to do from Earth. These observations are important in investigating how the Sun creates and controls its heliosphere.
The Solar Orbiter structural thermal model shortly before leaving the Airbus Defence and Space facility in Stevenage, UK
Solar Orbiter spacecraft is prepared for encapsulation in the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing.
The launch of Solar Orbiter from Cape Canaveral at 11.03pm EST on 9 February 2020 (US date)