New observations from ESA’s Solar Orbiter show that solar flares can be triggered by cascading magnetic disturbances. During a close solar pass, the spacecraft captured fine details of twisted magnetic fields repeatedly breaking and reconnecting, creating a magnetic “avalanche” that amplified a small instability into a powerful flare. The findings offer new insi…​New observations from ESA’s Solar Orbiter show that solar flares can be triggered by cascading magnetic disturbances. During a close solar pass, the spacecraft captured fine details of twisted magnetic fields repeatedly breaking and reconnecting, creating a magnetic “avalanche” that amplified a small instability into a powerful flare. The findings offer new insi…  ​ science