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Throughout the universe there are forces fundamental to how things move.

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Just as gravity is key to how things move on Earth,

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a process called magnetic reconnection

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is key to how charged particles speed through space.

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The more we understand how those particles are accelerated,

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the better we can protect our spacecraft and astronauts as we explore deeper into the solar system.

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And now, NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale spacecraft, or MMS,

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has discovered magnetic reconnection occurring in a new and surprising way near Earth.

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Typically, images of our planet from space show a blue-green sphere engulfed by the darkness of space.

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But -- invisible to the eye -- a vast network of magnetic energy and particles surround our planet.

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Earth’s magnetic field creates a protective bubble that shields us from highly energetic particles

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that stream in both from the Sun and interstellar space.

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As this solar wind bathes our planet,

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Earth’s magnetic field lines absorbs this energy and get stretched.

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And like elastic bands they eventually release energy by snapping.

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As a result, particles in the region are flung at supersonic speeds.

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That burst of energy is magnetic reconnection.

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It’s pervasive in the universe - it happens on the Sun, around Earth,

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and flings particles across the solar system.

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Scientists have observed this phenomenon many times in the magnetosphere, Earth’s vast magnetic environment.

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Now, in a new study, MMS caught the process occurring in a new region.

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For the first time, magnetic reconnection was detected in the turbulent magnetosheath -

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the boundary between the magnetosphere and solar wind.

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This region is made up of turbulent plasma.

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It’s one of the most chaotic regions in the near-Earth space.

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MMS captured 3-D observations by flying four identical spacecraft in a tight pyramid formation

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through the magnetosheath.

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These arrows show the hundreds of observations MMS took

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to measure the changes in particles and the magnetic field.

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This is the moment MMS sees bursts of energy from magnetic reconnection.

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But these signatures don’t look like standard reconnection.

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Compared to standard reconnection that occurs over tens of thousands of miles,

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this new magnetic reconnection spans only a couple of miles within turbulent plasma.

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These reactions are essentially much smaller but more stretchy elastic bands

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that accelerate particles 40 times faster.

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In short, MMS spotted a completely new magnetic mechanism that’s much quicker than what we’ve seen before.

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Just like when you mix milk into coffee,

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turbulent plasma in space moves randomly and creates vortices.

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It can transport particles and energy, but a lot is unknown about how these particles move through these regions.

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Showing that this new magnetic reconnection plays a role in turbulent plasma

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gives scientists insights into how turbulence influences particles moving through space.

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By looking at such fundamental processes in space at both large and small scales,

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scientists can learn what drives the complex environment we travel through

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to explore our solar system and beyond.

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