Space
Magnetic Fingerprint of the Milky Way Galaxy Sheds Light on the Origins of the Universe
Catherine Griffin
First Posted: May 07, 2014 07:24 AM EDT
Each fingerprint is unique, and that's also true for our galaxy. Astronomers have managed to create an unprecedented map of the entire sky that charts the magnetic field shaping the Milky Way galaxy.
The scientists managed this astonishing feat by using the Planck Space Telescope, an instrument that has charted the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) since 2009. The CMB is actually the light from the universe that exists just 380,000 years after the Big Bang, which means that understanding it can give researchers a better look at the origins of our universe.
Yet that's not all this telescope does. Planck also detects the light from microscopic dust particles within our galaxy. This helps identify the non-random direction in which the light waves vibrate, which is known as polarization. This polarized light indicates the orientation of field lines, and can help create a magnetic "fingerprint" for the Milky Way.
"Just as the Earth has a magnetic field, our galaxy has a large-scale magnetic field-albeit 100,000 times weaker than the magnetic field at the Earth's surface," said Douglas Scott, one of the researchers, in a news release. "And just as the Earth's magnetic field generates phenomena such as the aurorae, our galaxy's magnetic field is important for many phenomena within it."
The findings should allow scientists to make more detailed investigations of the early history of the universe. Not only that, but the results help lift the veil of emissions from tiny, yet pervasive, dust grains which can obscure Planck's view when it comes to looking at the earliest moments of the universe.
"Dust is often overlooked but it contains the stuff from which terrestrial planets and life form," said Peter Martin, who uses Planck data to study the dust of our galaxy, in a news release. "So by probing the dust, Planck helps us understand the complex history of the galaxy as well as the life within it."
The findings are published in several papers in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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First Posted: May 07, 2014 07:24 AM EDT
Each fingerprint is unique, and that's also true for our galaxy. Astronomers have managed to create an unprecedented map of the entire sky that charts the magnetic field shaping the Milky Way galaxy.
The scientists managed this astonishing feat by using the Planck Space Telescope, an instrument that has charted the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) since 2009. The CMB is actually the light from the universe that exists just 380,000 years after the Big Bang, which means that understanding it can give researchers a better look at the origins of our universe.
Yet that's not all this telescope does. Planck also detects the light from microscopic dust particles within our galaxy. This helps identify the non-random direction in which the light waves vibrate, which is known as polarization. This polarized light indicates the orientation of field lines, and can help create a magnetic "fingerprint" for the Milky Way.
"Just as the Earth has a magnetic field, our galaxy has a large-scale magnetic field-albeit 100,000 times weaker than the magnetic field at the Earth's surface," said Douglas Scott, one of the researchers, in a news release. "And just as the Earth's magnetic field generates phenomena such as the aurorae, our galaxy's magnetic field is important for many phenomena within it."
The findings should allow scientists to make more detailed investigations of the early history of the universe. Not only that, but the results help lift the veil of emissions from tiny, yet pervasive, dust grains which can obscure Planck's view when it comes to looking at the earliest moments of the universe.
"Dust is often overlooked but it contains the stuff from which terrestrial planets and life form," said Peter Martin, who uses Planck data to study the dust of our galaxy, in a news release. "So by probing the dust, Planck helps us understand the complex history of the galaxy as well as the life within it."
The findings are published in several papers in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone