Tag

Magnetic Fields

All articles tagged with #magnetic fields

Quiet White Dwarf Sparks Mysterious Bow Shock
space1 month ago

Quiet White Dwarf Sparks Mysterious Bow Shock

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope observed a glowing bow shock around the white dwarf RXJ0528+2838 in a binary system, even though the star shows no accretion disc or obvious outflow. The shock, visible in red, green, and blue, appears to have been powered for about 1,000 years, challenging standard models of how matter moves in such systems. A strong magnetic field could be funneling material from the companion directly onto the dead star without forming a disc, but this mechanism, if real, would only partly explain the phenomenon, leaving the exact origin of the outflow a mystery as reported in Nature Astronomy.

Scientists Unveil Explanation for 'Impossible' Black Hole Mergers
science3 months ago

Scientists Unveil Explanation for 'Impossible' Black Hole Mergers

In 2023, astronomers observed a black hole merger that defied existing physics, involving black holes within a forbidden mass range and spinning at near light speed. New simulations incorporating magnetic fields reveal that these fields can eject mass during a star's collapse, producing lighter, fast-spinning black holes and potentially observable gamma-ray bursts, offering insights into these 'impossible' black holes.

NASA's Voyager Encounters a Fiery Barrier at the Solar System's Edge
science3 months ago

NASA's Voyager Encounters a Fiery Barrier at the Solar System's Edge

NASA's Voyager 1 has encountered a 'wall of fire' at the edge of the Solar System, a hot zone near the heliopause, which marks the boundary between our Solar System and interstellar space. Data from Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 reveal that beyond this boundary, magnetic fields are aligned parallel to those inside the heliosphere, providing new insights into the nature of this frontier.

Scientists Observe Surprising Changes at Black Hole's Event Horizon
science5 months ago

Scientists Observe Surprising Changes at Black Hole's Event Horizon

Astronomers observing the supermassive black hole in galaxy M87 have discovered unexpected changes in its magnetic field polarization over several years, indicating a more complex and dynamic magnetic environment near the event horizon than previously thought, challenging existing models and highlighting the evolving capabilities of the Event Horizon Telescope.

Revealing New Insights into Black Hole Dynamics and Behavior
science5 months ago

Revealing New Insights into Black Hole Dynamics and Behavior

New images of the supermassive black hole M87* taken by the Event Horizon Telescope reveal unexpected changes in the polarization of its magnetic fields over four years, challenging existing models and indicating a dynamic environment near the black hole. The observations also captured the base of a jet of matter emerging from the black hole, providing insights into how black holes influence their host galaxies. These findings demonstrate the evolving capabilities of the EHT and its potential to deepen our understanding of black hole physics.