ESA uses cookies to track visits to our website only, no personal information is collected.
By continuing to use the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. OK Find out more about our cookie policy.
Currently, sci.esa.int is under review and not being updated. For the latest information and news from ESA science missions and scientific results, please visit esa.int. For a comprehensive overview of ESA’s Science Programme and its missions, please refer to science.esa.int. For in-depth technical information aimed at ESA's scientific communities, you may also wish to consult cosmos.esa.int.
Date: 03 February 2005 Satellite: Cluster Depicts: Magnetic field lines during reconnection Copyright: Center for Visual computing, University of California Riverside Show in archive: true
In a plasma, during magnetic reconnection, magnetic field lines of opposite direction break and then reconnect, forming an X-line magnetic topology. The newly reconnected field lines accelerate the plasma away from the X-line.