A new study led by University of Michigan researchers published in The Astrophysical Journal confirms the sun’s magnetic field accelerates solar wind as it relaxes.
The new analysis of the Voyager 2 data revealed that the odd magnetic field was caused by a rare event. Just before the spacecraft reached Uranus, the planet’s magnetic field had likely been squashed by a jet of unusually dense solar wind, as evidenced by a steady increase in solar wind pressure leading up to Voyager 2’s encounter with Uranus.