Europe’s Solar Orbiter has traced the origin of magnetic “switchbacks” — sudden S-shaped kinks in the solar wind — in a study published in Nature Astronomy.

Heavy ion measurements showed the switchback plasma came from hot, closed loops in the sun’s corona. The team linked the data to NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory images to pinpoint the source.

The findings support “interchange reconnection,” where closed magnetic loops reconnect with open field lines and fling plasma into space. But waves and turbulence take over once the switchback leaves the sun, reconciling two competing theories.

Understanding switchbacks could improve space weather forecasts and protect satellites and power grids from solar storms, said ESA project scientist Daniel Muller.

Future flybys will take Solar Orbiter even closer to the Sun, promising sharper views of where switchbacks are born. The mission is a partnership between the European Space Agency and NASA.

The spacecraft was launched in 2020 and is the first mission to combine close-up images of the Sun with direct measurements of the solar wind flowing past it.