QUANTA | Sun’s Puzzling Plasma Recreated in a Laboratory

Sun's magnetic fields trap hot plasmas in their loops — The sun’s magnetic fields trap hot plasmas in their loops, as seen in this ultraviolet image taken by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. The solar flare seen on the right caused moderate radio blackouts on Earth. (Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center)

Quanta Magazine

Also published in Nautilus Magazine

July 2019

The twisting loops of the sun’s magnetic field control the flow of charged particles throughout the solar system. For the first time, researchers have created a scale model of this mysterious environment.