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How this cosmic map of magnetic fields could help illuminate one of the universe’s most mysterious forces
TL;DR
A global team led by Australia's CSIRO has created the largest cosmic map of magnetic fields, measuring light from nearly 4 million galaxies. This map aims to help scientists understand the origins and evolution of magnetic fields in the universe.
Key points
- Largest cosmic map of magnetic fields produced
- Measured light from nearly 4 million galaxies
- Led by Australia's CSIRO
- Aims to investigate origins of magnetic fields
- Helps understand the physics of the universe
Mentioned in this story
CSIRO
A cosmic map of magnetic fields – the largest ever produced – could help scientists delve into one of the major and most mysterious forces in the universe.
A global team led by Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO charted the magnetic fields by measuring light from nearly 4m galaxies as it twisted and travelled through intergalactic space.
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Dr Alec Thomson, a CSIRO astronomer and astrophysicist said the Earth, stars, galaxies – and the material between galaxies – all had magnetic fields, so the map would enable scientists to investigate fundamental questions about the physics of the universe, and the galaxy we live in.
“We still don’t actually know how magnetic fields started in the universe, or how they’ve changed across time since the big bang. And so this type of map helps us start to answer those questions and be able to look at the details of the magnetic universe.”
CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, at Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory. Photograph: CSIRO/Alex Cherney
The encyclopaedic chart, now published and named “SPICE_RACS” (Spectra and Polarisation In Cutouts of Extragalactic Sources from the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey), was made possible by the country’s most powerful radio telescope array, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder – located at the Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara observatory in Western Australia. The instrument is capable of scanning immense areas of the sky and deep into the far reaches of distant galaxies.
Prof Naomi McClure-Griffiths, an author of the paper and chief scientist of the Square Kilometre Array observatory, said previous efforts to map magnetic fields didn’t even cover the southern sky.
“For the past 20 years we have been working with essentially the same dataset,” she said. “Now, we can finally answer some big questions with a much better picture of the universe’s magnetic structures.”
Q&A
What is the significance of the cosmic map of magnetic fields?
The cosmic map helps scientists investigate fundamental questions about the origins and changes of magnetic fields since the Big Bang.
How was the cosmic map of magnetic fields created?
The map was produced by measuring light from nearly 4 million galaxies as it twisted and traveled through intergalactic space.
Who led the creation of the cosmic magnetic fields map?
The map was created by a global team led by Australia's national science agency, CSIRO.
What mysteries about the universe does the cosmic map aim to address?
It aims to address questions about how magnetic fields started in the universe and how they have evolved over time.
