This overlap of images from two NASA spacecraft help confirm a sighting of magnetic reconnection on the sun, the process of realigning magnetic fields which lies at the heart of much of space weather. The teal image is from the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), showing light in the 131 Angstrom wavelength, which shows very hot material of 10 million Kelvin. The material traces out the shape of magnetic field lines looping through the sun’s atmosphere. The Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) data is overlaid in orange, highlighting the very hottest areas on the sun. The configuration shows hot material rising up and hot material falling down below – a signature of magnetic reconnection. Credit: NASA/SDO/RHESSI/GSFC

View associated news item at http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/the-heart-of-space-weather-observed-...