We travel about 67 million light years from the Milky Way.
An international team of astronomers analyzing the enormous magnetic field surrounding the spiral galaxy NGC 4217 has discovered as yet unknown, invisible magnetic field structures. It is not clear how the magnetic field is generated, but the new observations provide information about the origin of this incredible magnetism.
The magnetic field of this galaxy extends 22,500 light years from the plane of the galaxy, which we observe from the edge. The researchers observed a large number of shapes, including an X-shaped structure that has been seen in other galaxies, a helical structure, super bubbles and shells, as well as large loops in the magnetic field throughout the galaxy.
“It is fascinating that we discover unexpected phenomena in each galaxy when we use radio polarization measurements,” says Rainer Beck of the MPI for Radio Astronomy in Bonn in a statement. “Here in NGC 4217, there are huge magnetic bubbles of gas and a helical magnetic field spiraling up into the halo of the galaxy.” Something that has never been observed before.
This fabulous image, a mixture of optical observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and radio observations from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, shows the extent of the enormous magnetic field of the entire galaxy thanks to the use of radio waves , with which it is possible to determine the intensity and direction of magnetic fields.
Although it is not yet clear how magnetic fields are generated and maintained, the researchers hope that further analysis will answer some of these questions.
Reference: “CHANG-ES XXI. Transport processes and the X-shaped magnetic field of NGC 4217: off-center superbubble structure ”(DOI: https://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202037675)
