Observation of an evolving magnetic flux rope before and during a solar eruption

Explosive energy release is a common phenomenon occurring in magnetized plasma systems ranging from laboratories, Earth's magnetosphere, the solar corona and astrophysical environments. Its physical explanation is usually attributed to magnetic reconnection in a thin current sheet. Here we report the important role of magnetic flux rope structure, a volumetric current channel, in producing explosive events. The flux rope is observed as a hot channel before and during a solar eruption from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly telescope on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory. It initially appears as a twisted and writhed sigmoidal structure with a temperature as high as 10 MK, and then transforms toward a semi-circular shape during a slow-rise phase, which is followed by fast acceleration and onset of a flare. The observations suggest that the instability of the magnetic flux rope triggers the eruption, thus making a major addition to the traditional magnetic-reconnection paradigm.