During a solar flare, magnetic field lines on the sun are often visible due to the flow of plasma—charged particles—along the lines. According to theory, these magnetic lines should remain intact, but they are sometimes observed breaking and reconnecting with other lines. An interdisciplinary team of researchers suggests that turbulence may be the missing link. In their magnetohydrodynamic simulation, they found that the presence of chaotic turbulent motions made the magnetic line motion entirely unpredictable, whereas laminar flows behaved according to conventional flux-freezing theory. (Photo credit: NASA SDO; Research credit: G. Eyink et al.; via SpaceRef; submitted by jshoer)
(via nycpast)
My piece at Content Under Pressure in San Antonio, TX
(Source: quadici, via richmondcee)
Reflection and Emission Nebulas
— Rho Ophiuchi Cloud ComplexCredit: Gerald Rhemann // Astrostudio
Trevor Young, 48”x48”, Oil on canvas, 2012
(Source: trevorryoung.net)

