For the first time, magnetic switchbacks—zigzag-shaped kinks in plasma previously only seen near the Sun—have been detected in Earth’s magnetic field.

Physicists Emily McDougall and Matthew Argall discovered these structures while analyzing data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, finding that solar plasma interacting with Earth’s local magnetic fields caused the switchbacks.

Switchbacks form when open magnetic field lines from the Sun reconnect with closed loops, creating bursts of energy that kink the field lines.

This observation links solar and terrestrial plasma behavior, offering new insights into how geomagnetic disturbances form, Science Alert has reported.

The findings, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, could help improve forecasting of geomagnetic storms.