Science & processes · News English
Particles reveal the solar wind’s past
Solar Orbiter connects a magnetic bend to its source.
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Following a trail back to the Sun
Can a sample tell you where something came from?
1The European Space Agency reported a new clue about the solar wind on 8 October 2026. Solar Orbiter travelled through a bend in its magnetic field and collected particles. Their composition helped researchers trace where the material had come from.
2This bend is called a switchback. The spacecraft’s Solar Wind Analyser found charged oxygen and carbon particles with a distinctive mixture. The researchers connected that mixture to hot magnetic loops near the Sun.
3The result supports a process in which open magnetic field lines interact with closed loops. Material previously trapped in a loop can then escape. However, the team also found signs that waves and turbulence influence the switchback later in its journey.
4These explanations can therefore describe different stages, rather than compete as complete alternatives. The team combined particle measurements, solar images and modelling to follow the trail. The discovery improves understanding of how material moves from the Sun into space. It is not a forecast of a particular storm on Earth. The archive image here shows the Sun in ultraviolet light in March 2022. Its added colour makes otherwise invisible observations easier to display.
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Word help · Three useful words
Read the meanings and examples. Choose one word to use in your own sentence.
trace
follow evidence back to a source
We traced the leak to a pipe.
trapped
unable to escape
Air was trapped inside.
stage
one part of a developing process
We finished the first stage.
Check your reading · Three questions
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Useful English: stages of a process
After the parcel leaves the warehouse, it travels to a local depot. Once it arrives, a driver collects it. These are new practice examples.
Explain two stages of a familiar process. Use after and once.
Model and help
Model: After I choose a book online, I place an order. Once the parcel arrives, I check that it is the right book.
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Explain two stages of a familiar process. Use after and once.
Labelled model answer
After I choose a book online, I place an order. Once the parcel arrives, I check that it is the right book.
Illustrative learning example, not a news quotation.
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Sources and reporting date
ESA report dated 8 October 2026. Exact time and timezone not supplied. Conservative earliest possible instant: 7 October 10:00 UTC.
- Solar Orbiter tracks origin of mysterious magnetic switchbacks
ESA report dated 8 October 2026. Exact time and timezone not supplied. Conservative earliest possible instant: 7 October 10:00 UTC. - Archive image and credit
Solar Orbiter at perihelion, 27 March 2022: an ultraviolet observation with artificially added colour. Archive background, not an image of the newly analysed switchback. Resized and cropped versions remain under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.