Why Do Some Solar Eruptions Fail?

Why do some solar eruptions blast into space while others never make it?
SETI Institute heliophysicist Dr. Becca Robinson talks with Dr. Kathy Reeves of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian about new research revealing what can stop a solar eruption in its tracks.
Using observations of a failed solar eruption in March 2024, Reeves and her colleagues examined how the Sun's complex magnetic fields can both drive an eruption upward and ultimately prevent it from escaping. Their research shows how magnetic reconnection above an eruption can weaken it, while strong overlying…