Based on the results of a new study, a team of astronomers has created the first-ever map of magnetic field structures in the spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy.
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This was reported by the press service of the University of Tokyo (Japan).
The data obtained indicate that magnetic fields have a strong influence on star-forming regions, which means that they played a certain role in the creation of our solar system,” notes the university’s press service.
By this time, all observations of magnetic fields in the Milky Way resulted in a very limited model that largely matched the shape of the disk of the galaxy itself.
In the new study, researchers used data collected from:
- a telescope at Hiroshima University capable of measuring polarized light to determine magnetic signatures;
- the Gaia spacecraft, launched by the European Space Agency in 2013, specializes in measuring distances to stars.
As a result, it was possible to build a better model with finer details in three dimensions:
- previous models and observations could only imagine a smooth and mostly uniform magnetic field in our galaxy;
- new data shows that although magnetic field lines in the spiral arms are roughly aligned with the galaxy as a whole, on small scales the lines are actually scattered over different distances due to various astrophysical phenomena such as supernovae and stellar winds.
We focused on a specific region, the Sagittarius Arm of our spiral galaxy (we are in the neighboring Orion Arm) and found that the dominant magnetic field there was significantly lifted from the plane of the galaxy, the scientists note.
It is noted that galactic magnetic fields are incredibly weak, about 100 thousand times weaker than the Earth’s own magnetic field. However, despite this, gas and dust in interstellar space are accelerated by these fields for a long time, which explains the presence of some “stellar nurseries” – regions of star formation that cannot be explained only by gravity.
This discovery means that further mapping of the magnetic fields in our galaxy could help better explain the nature and evolution of the Milky Way and other galaxies, the scientists say.
Scientists have established the real appearance of our galaxy (INFOGRAPHICS)
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.