'This is a journey, not a destination': Stunning map of the Milky Way's center exposes new mysteries about our galaxy
By Robert Lea( space.com ) published 6 hours ago
A stunning new map of the magnetic fields at the Milky Way's center charts never-before-seen features, and raises new questions about how our galaxy's central engine works.
A never-before-seen view of the magnetic fields in the center of the Milky Way. (Image credit: Villanova University/Paré, Karpovich, Chuss (PI))
The Milky Way is our home galaxy, but how well do we actually know it? As part of a NASA-funded project, a team led by Villanova University researchers has obtained a never-before-seen view of the central engine at the heart of our galaxy.
The new map of this central region of the Milky Way, which took four years to assemble, reveals the relationship between magnetic fields at the heart of our galaxy and the cold dust structures that dwell there. This dust forms the building blocks of stars, planets, and, ultimately, life as we know it. The central engine of the Milky Way drives this process.
That means a clearer picture of dust and magnetic interactions builds a better understanding of the Milky Way and our place within it. The team's findings also have implications beyond our galaxy, offering glimpses of how dust and magnetic fields interact in the central engines of other galaxies.
Understanding how stars and galaxies form and evolve is a vital part of the origin story of life — but, until now, the interaction of dust and magnetic fields in this process has been somewhat overlooked, especially within our own galaxy.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/space/cosmology/this-is-a-journey-not-a-destination-stunning-map-of-the-milky-ways-center-exposes-new-mysteries-about-our-galaxy