Astronomers have produced a very precise map of the magnetic field in a piece of the Milky Way’s spiral arms called a galactic bone – a long filament of black gas and dust formed in middle of the fifth spiral galaxy. The new map shows an abnormal pattern of magnetic lines, as opposed to the magnetic properties found in the remnants of the Milky Way’s skeleton.
of the Milky Way The spiral galaxy, and most of the galaxy’s stars, and the earth that give birth to them, are wrapped in large, long arms that spin around the galactic center. Each hand has galactic bones running around its center, just as the bones run between our limbs. The gas and dirt inside these bones are so hard that the bones can make their own. mark (opens on new page) field.
In new research, astronomers traced the magnetic field of G47, a galactic skeleton that is 200 light -years long and 5 light -years wide. To do this, the researchers used the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a joint project by NASA and the German Space Agency (DLR). SOFIA is an aerial observer, whose aircraft is a Boeing 747SP modified to carry a 106-inch-diameter (2.7 meters) telescope, pointed from the aircraft’s main aperture, up to altitude. of 45,000 feet (13,700). m). As a result, the telescope can operate on 99% of the Earth infrared (opens on new page)-blocking the air, as NASA.
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“We were able to obtain several independent measurements of the magnetic field direction between these bones, allowing us to really investigate the importance of the magnetic field in these large filamentary worlds,” the authors write. led by Ian Stephens, an astronomer at Worcester State University in Massachusetts, said in a statement (opens on new page).
The researchers believe that magnetic fields can play an important role in determining the amount of activity of stars in galactic bones.
“They [magnetic fields] It can lead to the flow of gas, form bones and affect how much and how many of the best gas bags will fall back and become a star, “Stephens said in a statement.” severe gravity of the magnetic field at that of gravity to compare the number of magnetic fields associated with the stellar process. ”
The map made with SOFIA shows the extreme damage of the magnetic field in the G47, without cause and without reference. The researchers thought the magnetic field was similar to the different fields seen in a larger way at the arms of the Milky Way, where the magnetic field travels similarly in the arms, a statement said.
Although the magnetic field of the G47 can be seen in some places, it is directly attached to the strongest parts of the bone. Elsewhere, the thickness of the fields is much smaller, and the researchers believe that these small particles feed the gas into the larger particles of the plant. the stars. However, the team believes that the magnetic field in these countries may be so strong that it could actually prevent the formation of stars in some places by acting against gravity. trying to break the gas into a new star, as the saying goes.
The map made with SOFIA shows the extreme damage of the magnetic field in the G47, without cause and without reference. The researchers thought the magnetic field was similar to the different fields seen in a larger way at the arms of the Milky Way, where the magnetic field travels similarly in the arms, a statement said.
Although the magnetic field of the G47 can be seen in some areas, it is closest to the strongest parts of the bone. Elsewhere, the thickness of the fields is much smaller, and the researchers believe that these small particles feed the gas into the larger particles of the plant. the stars. However, the team believes that the magnetic field in these countries may be so strong that it could actually prevent the formation of stars in some places by acting against gravity. trying to break the gas into a new star, as the saying goes.
G47 is the first of 10 galactic bones proposed for high -altitude mapping using SOFIA as part of the Extremely Long and Dark Filaments: a Magnetic Polarization Survey (FIELDMAPS) program. The overall goal of the FIELDMAPS project is to compare the magnetic particles of galactic bones with computer simulations of spiral galaxes, to see how they contribute to the nature of the entire magnetic field of the universe. bones of the Milky Way.
The study was published online Feb. 15 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters (opens on new page).
Originally published on Live Science.
