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.
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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77
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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29
Astronomers have long tried to track down how elements like carbon, which is essential for life, become widely distributed across the universe. Now, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has examined one ongoing source of carbon-rich ...
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2025
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107
Located a staggering 160,000 light-years from us, the star WOH G64 was imaged thanks to the impressive sharpness offered by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer (ESO's VLTI). The new observations ...
Astronomy
Nov 21, 2024
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350
The daisy world model describes a hypothetical planet that self-regulates, maintaining a delicate balance involving its biogeochemical cycles, climate, and feedback loops that keep it habitable. It's associated with the Gaia ...
Planetary Sciences
Nov 16, 2024
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84
Why is it important to search for exoplanets in triple star systems and how many can we find there? This is what a recent study accepted by Astrophysics & Space Science hopes to address after a pair of researchers from the ...
Astrobiology
Oct 2, 2024
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