{"id":684915,"date":"2026-06-05T00:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T00:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/684915\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T00:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T00:54:19","slug":"australian-scientists-map-the-universes-magnetic-fields","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/684915\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian scientists map the universe\u2019s magnetic fields"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Scientists have released the largest and most detailed maps ever made of the universe\u2019s magnetic fields, using data from Australia\u2019s strongest radio telescope to visualise the hidden force that may help govern the structure of the entire cosmos.<\/p>\n

The project casts crucial light on a final bastion of cosmic mystery: how these giant magnetic structures influence the formation of galaxies, the birth of stars, the roaring of radioactive \u201cspace weather\u201d and the lifespan of our home galaxy.<\/p>\n

\"AA new map, called SPICE-RACS, shows magnetic fields throughout the universe in blue and red. CSIRO \/ Alex Cherney \/ Sam Moorfield<\/p>\n

The map is five times larger<\/a> than all previous efforts to visualise the universe\u2019s magnetism combined, said lead author Dr Alec Thomson, a SKA Observatory scientist who works with CSIRO in Western Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat gives us the best view we\u2019ve ever had on magnetic fields throughout the universe,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can see further than we\u2019ve ever been able to see before, and we can see the Milky Way in 10 times better detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

Intergalactic magnetism could be as crucial to the architecture of space as gravity, influencing the flow of material through space and shaping the evolution of the universe as we know it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Magnetic fields are generated when electrical charges move \u2013 such as electrons flowing through a wire.<\/p>\n

The electrically conductive molten metal in Earth\u2019s core, for example, generates a vast magnetic field which shields the planet from space radiation and solar flares.<\/p>\n

Without it, our atmosphere would be stripped away by cosmic wind and our planet would be as barren as Mars.<\/p>\n

Over the past few decades, we\u2019ve begun to understand magnetic fields are also generated by the spinning of the galaxies and the blasts of supernovae.<\/p>\n

\"SKA-LowSKA-Low Commissioning Scientist Dr Alec Thomson.SKAO<\/p>\n

That contributes to a complicated web of magnetism that wends throughout the entire universe.<\/p>\n

About 99.9 per cent of visible material in the universe by volume is plasma, or charged gas, which can be channelled and manipulated by magnetism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why magnetic fields have such a strong influence on how that material moves around the universe and inside galaxies,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n

Large-scale simulations of the universe show galaxies are not flung randomly across space, but gather in clumps linked by filaments, resulting in images which look like neurons in the brain or tangly redback spider webs.<\/p>\n

\"AA computer simulation showing of the \u201ccosmic web\u201d of the universe. Magnetism may hold a key role in the universe\u2019s structure.Volker Springel and the Virgo Consortium, Nature, 435: 629, 2005<\/p>\n

Gravity plays a major role in this structure, but magnetism could be another key architect.<\/p>\n

Magnetic fields also slow down the formation of new stars by a factor of three, acting as a foil to gravity as it clumps together gas and dust. The fields also underpin how gusts of electromagnetic interstellar winds blast from stars and into space.<\/p>\n

Thomson and his co-authors have released the map data publicly<\/a> so others may use it to find out more about these phenomena.<\/p>\n

The new maps were made using data from CSIRO\u2019s ASKAP radio telescope, 750 kilometres north-east of Perth.<\/p>\n

Light speeding towards Earth from far-flung galaxies is warped as it passes through magnetic fields.<\/p>\n

The scientists processed data captured by the telescope to deduce exactly how light waves twisted on the way to Earth. Working backwards, the researchers could then locate and map out the magnetic fields.<\/p>\n

Scientific images produced by the project\u2019s team show the magnetic fields as they would appear from Earth.<\/p>\n

\u201cRed is where magnetic fields are pointing towards us and blue is where magnetic fields are pointing away from us,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n

The maps also show magnetic fields thrown off by nearby galaxies, called the Magellanic Clouds. Professor Naomi McClure-Griffiths, chief scientist of the SKA Observatory and co-author of the new research, is scrutinising how magnetism affects the interaction of these neighbouring galaxies with the Milky Way.<\/p>\n

The astrophysicist is also keen to investigate how magnetic fields affect \u201cgalactic cannibalism\u201d, the process by which galaxies siphon gas from smaller galaxies to use as raw material to form new stars.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe map superimposed over our night sky. Red areas indicate where magnetic fields are pointed towards us, while blue areas are where they\u2019re pointed away.Alec Thomson et al<\/p>\n

The magnetic fields of the Milky Way and a galaxy it wants to \u201ceat\u201d may repel each other, slowing down this feeding process that helps keep the galaxy going.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that process is slowed down by magnetic fields, then it has implications for the lifetime of our own galaxy,\u201d McClure-Griffiths said.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Dr<\/a><\/p>\n

The researchers hope their mapping data accelerates fundamental discoveries about the formation and architecture of the universe \u2013 and how space became a magnetic realm in the first place.<\/p>\n

The initial data is called the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Surveys (RACS). Add the new part of the project \u2013 Spectra and Polarisation In Cutouts of Extragalactic Sources \u2013 and you get SPICE-RACS, a name that evokes a mundane object but represents some of the most immense and mysterious structures that exist.<\/p>\n

Thomson said the maps were \u201cjust the start\u201d and major breakthroughs are to follow in coming years.<\/p>\n

The Examine newsletter explains and analyses science with a rigorous focus on the evidence. Sign up to get it each week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"AngusAngus Dalton<\/a> is the science reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[199,79],"class_list":["post-684915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-physics","tag-physics","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}