[Fitzcarraldo]

What's squeezing these solar magnetic fields? Do convection cells in the Sun behave like hurricanes and tornadoes and twist the fields into a knot?

[RadioAstronomer]

What's squeezing these solar magnetic fields? Do convection cells in the Sun behave like hurricanes and tornadoes and twist the fields into a knot?

Here is a pretty good link that will provide a whole lot more info than I can in a few short sentences. :-)

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/hidden_sun_011214.html

From the link:

"Like Kosovichev's research, Zhao's observation raises new questions.

"Is it the vortex that twists the magnetic field or does the twisted magnetic field somehow create the vortex?" Zhao wonders.

Discovering the cause of twisted solar magnetic fields is important because it might eventually help predict stormy solar activity. Twisted magnetic fields on the Sun can suddenly snap to a new configuration with less energy. The excess energy is released in violent solar activity as solar flares and CMEs. These events occasionally disrupt satellites, power systems, and radio communication at Earth."