Avalanche of magnetic reconnection powers solar flare, Solar Orbiter reveals

ESA's Solar Orbiter captured a large solar flare as a cascade of rapid reconnection events—an avalanche that builds from weak disturbances to a full eruption—producing rain-like plasma blobs and high-energy X-rays; four instruments provided a detailed, multi-instrument view, supporting avalanche models and improving understanding of energy transfer from magnetic fields to plasma and particles, with implications for space weather forecasting.