<p>The new NASA Goddard video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkaLfbuB_6E" rel="nofollow noreferrer">NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time</a> explains that the spacecraft passed many times through &quot;switchbacks&quot; or kinks in the solar wind, where the video explains that it momentarily changes direction.</p>
<p>The video goes on to explain that after passing through (at least) several switchbacks astronomers were able to trace their origins back to the surface of the Sun, all the way to the darker, cooler areas surrounding individual convection cells.</p>
<p>I get the impression that the &quot;tracking-back&quot; of their origins was to individual convection cells, but that might just be my wishful thinking. So I'd like to ask:</p>
<p><strong>Question:</strong> How did astronomers &quot;track back&quot; solar wind switchbacks to the surface of the Sun? To what resolution was this done; to the level of individual convection cells?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/sISUI.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/sISUI.jpg" alt="screenshot from the new NASA Goddard video &quot;NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time&quot;" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/A9oCX.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/A9oCX.jpg" alt="screenshot from the new NASA Goddard video &quot;NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time&quot;" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/306d8.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/306d8.jpg" alt="screenshot from the new NASA Goddard video &quot;NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time&quot;" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/BxPmn.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/BxPmn.jpg" alt="screenshot from the new NASA Goddard video &quot;NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time&quot;" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-14T21:34:40.300Z
companion question: [The Sun's Alfvén critical surface; what was known about its existence and location before Parker Solar Probe "touched the Sun"?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/47812/7982)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-15T09:00:34.807Z
[The paper is here](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.255101), but I don't understand most of it (I got "Sun" and "probe", though).
Jean-Marie Prival
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-15T09:02:45.173Z
@Jean-MariePrival excellent, thank you!
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-12-15T09:12:59.573Z
You're welcome. For future questions, it was two clicks away from the video: the "more information" link in the video description takes to the press release at nasa.gov, then the "new paper" link in the press release takes to the paper. Most NASA videos seem to follow this pattern these days.
Jean-Marie Prival
<the-sun><stellar-astrophysics><solar-wind><corona><parker-solar-probe>
Did astronomers "track back" solar wind switchbacks to the surface of the Sun to individual convection cells?
uhoh
# Did astronomers "track back" solar wind switchbacks to the surface of the Sun to individual convection cells?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-12-14)

The new NASA Goddard video [NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkaLfbuB_6E) explains that the spacecraft passed many times through "switchbacks" or kinks in the solar wind, where the video explains that it momentarily changes direction.

The video goes on to explain that after passing through (at least) several switchbacks astronomers were able to trace their origins back to the surface of the Sun, all the way to the darker, cooler areas surrounding individual convection cells.

I get the impression that the "tracking-back" of their origins was to individual convection cells, but that might just be my wishful thinking. So I'd like to ask:

**Question:** How did astronomers "track back" solar wind switchbacks to the surface of the Sun? To what resolution was this done; to the level of individual convection cells?

[![screenshot from the new NASA Goddard video "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time"](https://i.sstatic.net/sISUI.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/sISUI.jpg)

[![screenshot from the new NASA Goddard video "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time"](https://i.sstatic.net/A9oCX.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/A9oCX.jpg)

[![screenshot from the new NASA Goddard video "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time"](https://i.sstatic.net/306d8.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/306d8.jpg)

[![screenshot from the new NASA Goddard video "NASA's Parker Solar Probe Touches The Sun For The First Time"](https://i.sstatic.net/BxPmn.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/BxPmn.jpg)

**Tags:** the-sun, stellar-astrophysics, solar-wind, corona, parker-solar-probe

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: companion question: [The Sun's Alfvén critical surface; what was known about its existence and location before Parker Solar Probe "touched the Sun"?](https://astronomy.stackexchange.com/q/47812/7982)  
> **username_1**: [The paper is here](https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.255101), but I don't understand most of it (I got "Sun" and "probe", though).  
> **username_0**: @username_1 excellent, thank you!  
> **username_1**: You're welcome. For future questions, it was two clicks away from the video: the "more information" link in the video description takes to the press release at nasa.gov, then the "new paper" link in the press release takes to the paper. Most NASA videos seem to follow this pattern these days.  

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## 0 answers

