Our sun’s surface is a volatile place, to say the least. A mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic, nuclear furnace that churns out some of the hottest plasmic substances in the galaxy. All of this superheated matter gives off energy as well as creates super powerful magnetic fields. During a solar flare, the sun heats elements like hydrogen to its plasma state, causing its magnetism to go into overdrive, which leads to magnetic reconnection. What Is Magnetic Reconnection? Like most things in physics, there’s a good deal of big words and math to explain what exactly magnetic reconnection is. In layman’s terms, it is when the sun heats matter into the least common state of matter: plasma. As matter enters its plasmic state, it gives off energy. This energy is powerful enough to cause different magnetic fields to become one, or reconnect. In other words, different magnetic fields on the surface of the sun are literally fused together, making new, stronger fields. These new magnetic fields then produce some crazy amounts of energy. Where Do They Go From There? After magnetic reconnection occurs, these new fields emit energy of their own. The fields are so powerful they can produce both thermal and kinetic energy as well and can even fuel particle acceleration—beams of atoms able to travel nearly the speed of light! Once these massive amounts of energy are assembled, they shoot away from the sun, out to the rest of the solar system. In some cases, this energy can be pretty dangerous, especially in the form of thermal radiation. Thankfully for those of us living on Earth, we have a handy magnetic field to protect us. Other Instances of Magnetic Reconnection In 2012, scientists monitoring Earth’s magnetosphere through the Cluster Program observed magnetic reconnection formed right here at home. While not born out of a flare or nearly as powerful as the sun’s, Earth’s own magnetic reconnection behaves in some pretty interesting ways, including the little-understood magnetic interconnection—wherein Earth’s magnetic field actually intertwines with the sun’s! While not fully understood, we’ll be sure to keep you posted with all the latest magnetic news!