The
Central Magnetic Field of the Cigar Galaxy
Are
galaxies giant magnets? Yes, but the magnetic fields in
galaxies are typically much weaker than on Earth's surface, as
well as more
complex and harder to measure.
Recently,
though, the HAWC+
instrument onboard the airborne (747) SOFIA observatory has
been successful in detailing
distant magnetic fields by observing infrared light polarized byreflection from
dust grains.
Featured
below, HAWC+ observations of the M82, the Cigar galaxy, show
that the central magnetic field is perpendicular to
the disk and parallel to the strong super-galactic wind.
This observation
bolsters the hypothesis that M82's central magnetic field helps its
wind transport the mass of millions of stars out from the central star-burst
region.
The featured
image shows magnetic field lines superposed on top of an optical light
(gray) and hydrogen gas (red)
image from Kitt Peak National
Observatory, further combined with infrared
images (yellow) from SOFIA and the Spitzer Space
Telescope.
The Cigar Galaxy is about
12 million light
years distant and visible with binoculars towards
the constellation of the Great
Bear.
