The Milky Way Gets A New Image
A spectacular new image reveals the magnetic field of our Milky Way galaxy.
A team using the European Space Agency's Planck satellite has produced a new image of the magnetic field of the Milky Way. An international team of astronomers, including Dr. Peter Martin from the Canadian Institute for Astrophysics and Interim Director of the Dunlap Institute at the University of Toronto, created the image from emissions from normally invisible dust in our galaxy. It reveals a spectacular pattern of loops and whorls similar to a fingerprint, but on a galactic scale. This information about the galaxy's magnetic field helps researchers understand star formation in our galaxy, but may also help us see the Big Bang more clearly, as interfering radiation from our galaxy can now be removed more effectively from the Cosmic Microwave Background - the first light after the Big Bang.
Related Links
- Papers in Astronomy and Astrophysics: 1 2 3 4
- University of Toronto release
- High-resolution images of the Magnetic Field
- NASA/JPL release
- European Space Agency release
- The Globe & Mail article
- Professor Martin previously on Quirks & Quarks