How does the Sun's magnetic field work?

This illustration lays a depiction of the sun's magnetic fields over an image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on March 12, 2016. The sun’s surface is a brilliant display of sunspots and flares driven by the solar magnetic field, which is internally generated through a process called dynamo action.

Where does the magnetic field come from?

Now, after running a series of complex calculations on a NASA supercomputer, the researchers discovered the magnetic field is generated about 20,000 miles below the sun's surface. The finding contradicts previous theories, which suggest the phenomenon has deep origins -- beginning more than 130,000 miles below the sun's surface.

Does the Sun have a magnetic field?

“The features we see when looking at the sun, like the corona that many people saw during the recent solar eclipse, sunspots, and solar flares, are all associated with the sun’s magnetic field,” says study author Keaton Burns, a research scientist in MIT’s Department of Mathematics.

Could a magnetic field create sunspots and solar flares?

Surprise findings suggest sunspots and solar flares could be generated by a magnetic field within the Sun's outermost layers. If confirmed, the findings could help scientists better predict space weather.

Where does the Sun's magnetism come from?

For many years, scientists have searched for the source of the Sun’s magnetism. It’s possible they’ve been looking in the wrong place. A new study suggests that the solar dynamo, the process which generates the Sun’s magnetic field, lies about 32,000 kilometres beneath its surface.

Does the Sun's magnetic field originate deep inside its interior?

A new model contradicts previous theories that the sun's magnetic field originates deep inside its interior. Deep origin theories could not explain rotation patterns of the sun's gas near its surface In 1612, astronomer Galileo Galilei observed dark splotches can sunspots moving across the face of the sun.