Topic: Space
Astronomers have captured the first direct images of a magnetic field around a newborn star. The twisted field helps shape powerful jets that form stars, like our own sun.
A team of astronomers has made a groundbreaking discovery using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). They captured high-resolution images of a magnetic field wrapped tightly around the outflow of gas streaming away from a forming star. This finding confirms a decades-old theory about how young stars create powerful jets.
The research team, led by Tao-Chung Ching, studied NGC 1333 IRAS 4A, a young double-star system in the Perseus molecular cloud, about 960 light-years from Earth. Newborn stars grow by pulling in gas and dust from their surroundings and blasting some material back out into space. Astronomers have long suspected that magnetic fields twisted into a funnel-like shape around the jet help shape these powerful jets.
The team used ALMA's exceptional resolving power to measure the faint polarization of carbon monoxide gas radiating from the outflow. This allowed them to trace the morphology and strength of the magnetic field at distances of only a few hundred astronomical units from the young star. The magnetic field was found to be modest, but immense on an interstellar scale, with a strength of a few thousandths of a gauss.
Why It Matters
Understanding how stars are born and create powerful jets is crucial for learning more about our own sun and the universe. This discovery also gives astronomers a new way to measure magnetic fields in gas clouds where stars form.
Key Facts
- Astronomers have captured high-resolution images of a twisted magnetic field around a newborn star using ALMA.
- The study confirms a decades-old theory about how young stars create powerful jets.
- NGC 1333 IRAS 4A is a young double-star system in the Perseus molecular cloud, about 960 light-years from Earth.
- The magnetic field has a strength of a few thousandths of a gauss, modest but immense on an interstellar scale.
- This discovery gives astronomers a new way to measure magnetic fields in gas clouds where stars form.
Key Terms
- Magnetic Field
- A region around a magnet or electric current where the force of magnetism acts.
- Toroidal Magnetic Field
- A donut-shaped magnetic field, like a coil, that wraps around an object.
Implications
Understanding how stars are born and create powerful jets is crucial for learning more about our own sun and the universe. This discovery also gives astronomers a new way to measure magnetic fields in gas clouds where stars form.
Leave a comment