The magazine MAQ December 2019 January 2020 | Page 159

MAQ Magazine n. 16 / January 2020

Parker indicated that the solar magnetic field embedded in the solar wind flips in the direction. These reversals — dubbed "switchbacks" — last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes as they flow over Parker Solar Probe. During a switchback, the magnetic field whips back on itself until it is pointed almost directly back at the Sun. The spacecraft's approximate location is represented as a dot icon.

Credit: NASA Goddard/CIL/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez

For the third point, if the solar wind is produced continuously or instead in flashes, the Parker Solar Probe has provided concrete proof of its irregular and turbulent appearance. The plasma inside the solar wind has non-linear behaviors and plasma lumps have been observed falling back towards the Sun instead of flowing away, perhaps causing the bending of the magnetic field of which it was said.