Magnetic field lines cannot normally cross - but push two sets pointing opposite ways hard enough together and they snap, break, and rejoin at a single spot called an X-point. The rejoined lines whip sideways like a slingshot and fire out two jets of hot plasma. That is magnetic reconnection, the trigger behind solar flares and the aurora. Watch the plasma flow in from top and bottom and jet out left and right.
Published literacy: magnetic reconnection happens where oppositely-directed field lines meet at an X-point in a thin current sheet; they rejoin and convert stored magnetic energy into heat, particle acceleration, and plasma jets near the Alfven speed - the engine of solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and the aurora.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Change the reconnection rate, hide the field lines, or pause the flow.
Magnetic Reconnection 3D Explorer
A magnetic field stores energy, and in a plasma the field lines are normally locked to the gas and cannot cross one another. But squeeze two regions whose fields point in opposite directions tightly together and something dramatic happens: at a razor-thin boundary the lines break and rejoin, snapping into a new shape and dumping their stored energy all at once. This is magnetic reconnection, and this explorer shows the flow of field and plasma through the reconnection region.
The rejoining happens at a special spot, the X-point, where the neighbouring reconnected field lines form an X. Fresh field and plasma drift inward from above and below; at the X-point the lines reconnect, and the newly bent lines relax like a stretched slingshot, flinging plasma outward sideways in two fast jets that move at a good fraction of the Alfven speed. As that plasma leaves, more field flows in behind it, so once reconnection starts it tends to keep going. The energy released this way powers the biggest space-weather events we know: solar flares and coronal mass ejections on the Sun, and, closer to home, the magnetospheric substorms that light up the aurora when the solar wind reconnects with Earth field. Dedicated space-weather spacecraft have even flown right through reconnection sites to watch it happen. Reconnection only rearranges the field topology - it never makes magnetic monopoles.
- Oppositely-directed field lines (orange and blue) pushed toward an X-point
- Plasma flowing inward from top and bottom
- Reconnected field lines snapping outward and jetting plasma left and right
- An energy flash each time a burst of plasma is flung out
- A reconnection-rate slider and a field-line toggle
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Students see where a solar flare gets its punch; teachers connect the X-point picture to flares and the aurora; the curious learn why the Sun and Earth share the same trick.
| Feature | What it is | Note |
|---|---|---|
| X-point | where field lines rejoin | Inside a thin current sheet |
| Energy released | magnetic to heat + motion | Sudden, explosive |
| Outflow jets | plasma near the Alfven speed | Fired sideways |
| Powers | flares, CMEs, aurora | Sun and Earth alike |
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached; no scene data is sent to a server.
This is an educational visualization - a stylized flat view with schematic field lines and a hugely sped-up flow, not to scale and not a magnetohydrodynamic solver.
For a step-by-step walkthrough, read the Magnetic Reconnection 3D Explorer step-by-step guide. The Space 3D collection also includes Sunspot Magnetic Loops 3D and Earth Magnetosphere 3D.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is magnetic reconnection?
It is a process in a plasma where magnetic field lines pointing in opposite directions meet, break, and rejoin at an X-point, suddenly releasing stored magnetic energy as heat, particle acceleration, and plasma jets.
What is the X-point?
The spot inside a thin current sheet where the field lines actually rejoin. The reconnected lines on either side form an X shape, which gives the point its name.
Why does plasma shoot out sideways?
A freshly reconnected field line is sharply bent. It relaxes like a released slingshot, and that snap flings the attached plasma outward as two fast jets, moving near the Alfven speed.
What does reconnection cause?
It powers solar flares and coronal mass ejections on the Sun, and the magnetospheric substorms that brighten the aurora on Earth when the solar wind reconnects with our planet field.
Does it create magnetic monopoles?
No. Reconnection only changes how the field lines are connected. It never creates isolated magnetic north or south poles; the field stays free of monopoles throughout.
Is this scene to scale?
No. It is a stylized flat view of the reconnection region with schematic field lines and a hugely sped-up flow. It is not to scale and is not a full plasma simulation.