[WATCH] Astonishing Video Shows Totally New Kind of Magnetic Eruption on The Sun

A "magnetic explosion" on the Sun,which was triggered by a nearby eruption - a forced reconnection rather than a spontaneous one, was seen by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory astronomers for the first time.

The phenomenon, known as magnetic reconnection, previously occurred many times on the Sun and around our planet; however, the astronomers only took spontaneous reconnections in the past.

The massive discharge of the solar matter on the upper stretches of the Sun's atmosphere was seen falling back into a web of magnetic field lines, making them reconnect with a bang in a distinct X shape.

Solar scientist Abhishek Srivastava from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) in Varanasi, India, said that the phenomenon was the first observation of an external driver of magnetic reconnection.

Srivastava said the phenomenon could be beneficial for understanding other solar systems. He noted that Earth's and terrestrial magnetospheres, other magnetized plasma sources, including tests at laboratory systems are highly diffusive and very challenging to control.

(Video from NASA)

Sun's surface is unimaginably hot. But strangely enough, its atmosphere is 300 times more oppressive. Magnetic reconnection in the outermost part, known as the corona, is perceived to play a significant role in producing excess heat. The mechanics of the connection, however, remain unsettled and are highly discussed.

The phenomenon's ideal conditions are still being teased out. However, the new study - which was published in The Astrophysical Journal - suggests we're on the right track. The forced reconnection appearance was first forecasted 15 years ago, and now, we finally know some of the precise circumstances needed for it to occur.

Astronomers were able to calculate the temperature of the ejected plasma before and after its plummet by examining multiple wavelengths of ultraviolet light. This exposed that the burst of the matter was relatively peaceful before it entered the blistering corona.

The eruption took an hour to fall back down into the magnetic field lines. The temperature appeared to surge once it falls back, suggesting that the forced reconnection - apart from heating the solar matter - does so in a much more controlled, quicker, and higher manner than just a spontaneous reconnection.

"Observations in [connection] to the [statistical] model [show] that forced reconnection [might] rapidly and efficiently [transpire] at higher rates in the solar corona," the team writes in their study.

Researchers added the physical process might also locally melt the corona, even without building a significant and self-consistent diffusion area.

The bulk of energy, while not as prominent as solar flares, was still enough to form an outflowing of plasma streaks, leading the authors to conclude that the eruption "ingest the energy made by the forced magnetic reconnection."

The authors consider other forms of the solar eruption which could also force this reconnection. They are also looking for more patterns to figure out how often this phenomenon occurs on the Sun.

"[We perceive] that forced reconnection [happens] everywhere," says Srivastava. "But we have to continue to [examine the phenomenon] to quantify it, if we want to prove [the appearance]," Srivastava said.