Interstellar magnetic fields as a research area focuses on the origin, structure, strength, and evolution of magnetic fields in the diffuse and dense phases of the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies. It integrates observational probes (e.g., Faraday rotation, Zeeman splitting, synchrotron emission, dust polarization) with magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) theory and simulations to understand how magnetic fields influence star formation, cosmic-ray propagation, ISM turbulence, and galactic dynamos. The field also investigates magnetic coupling between different ISM phases, feedback from stellar winds and supernovae on field topology, and the role of magnetization in shaping filaments, molecular clouds, and large-scale galactic structures.
Scientists have devised a new method for mapping the spottiness of distant stars by using observations from NASA missions of orbiting planets crossing their stars' faces. The model builds on a technique researchers have used ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 25, 2025
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An international team, led by Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço (IA) researcher Ângela Santos, has made the first measurement of the magnetic field of β Hydri, a nearby aged solar analog subgiant star. This result, ...
Astronomy
Jun 23, 2025
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Astronomers from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in India and elsewhere have employed the Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) to conduct long-term photometric observations of an open ...
Astronomers have developed a computer simulation to explore, in unprecedented detail, magnetism and turbulence in the interstellar medium (ISM)—the vast ocean of gas and charged particles that lies between stars in the Milky ...
Astronomy
May 13, 2025
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111
As part of ESA/Hubble's 35th anniversary celebrations, the European Space Agency (ESA) shared new images that revisited stunning, previously released Hubble targets with the addition of the latest Hubble data and new processing ...
Astronomy
Apr 28, 2025
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225
High up on the top of Cerro Pachón in northern Chile, NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory is nearing completion. At the heart of the facility, a pivotal moment in the project's scientific adventure is unfolding. After more ...
Astronomy
Apr 14, 2025
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39
Follow-up research on a 2023 image of the Sagittarius C stellar nursery in the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, captured by NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, has revealed ejections from still-forming protostars and insights ...
Astronomy
Apr 2, 2025
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73
Scientists have identified a promising new way to detect life on faraway planets, hinging on worlds that look nothing like Earth and gases rarely considered in the search for extraterrestrials.
Astrobiology
Mar 13, 2025
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78
A team of international researchers including Dr. Jake Taylor from the Department of Physics at the University of Oxford, has used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to explore the exotic atmosphere of LTT 9779 b, a rare ...
Astronomy
Feb 25, 2025
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62
Exoplanet exploration has taken off in recent years, with over 5,500 being discovered so far. Some have even been in the habitable zones of their stars. Imaging one such potentially habitable exoplanet is the dream of many ...
Space Exploration
Jan 28, 2025
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