Posted on 01/27/2021 3:10:15 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: How far do magnetic fields extend up and out of spiral galaxies? For decades astronomers knew only that some spiral galaxies had magnetic fields. However, after NRAO's Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope (popularized in the movie Contact) was upgraded in 2011, it was unexpectedly discovered that these fields could extend vertically away from the disk by several thousand light-years. The featured image of edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5775, observed in the CHANG-ES (Continuum Halos in Nearby Galaxies) survey, also reveals spurs of magnetic field lines that may be common in spirals. Analogous to iron filings around a bar magnet, radiation from electrons trace galactic magnetic field lines by spiraling around these lines at almost the speed of light. The filaments in this image are constructed from those tracks in VLA data. The visible light image, constructed from Hubble Space Telescope data, shows pink gaseous regions where stars are born. It seems that winds from these regions help form the magnificently extended galactic magnetic fields.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then zoom by moving the magnifying glass over an area and then clicking. The side bars will move the zoomed area over the photograph.
It’s a giant, opalescent Sugar Glider. :-)
All kidding aside, thanks for the great pic!
If you told me this was a photo from a microscope, I’d believe this was a new one-celled species just discovered.
Looks like Mark Spitz doing the backstroke.
I don’t know what that is but it sounds like dessert!
Heh heh. It’s like a flying squirrel, only smaller, with bigger eyes, and the females have a pouch. Cool to have, if you’re lucky enough to live in a state that sells them.
I was thinking something you buy at a A pâtisserie!
What the Star Trek guys did not want to see approaching them
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