Astronomers capture the galaxy NGC 4631

Astronomers capture the galaxy NGC 4631
Astronomers capture the galaxy NGC 4631
Anonim

Astronomers using the Very Large Array telescope have obtained a new image of the galaxy NGC 4631, located about 25 million light-years from us, in the constellation Dog Hounds. It extends for about 80,000 light years and has a small galaxy NGC 4627 as a companion.

As indicated, the image shows the so-called "magnetic filaments" - above and below the galactic disk. It is noted that these filaments, visible in green and blue colors, penetrate deep into the galactic halo of gas and dust. Green filaments have a magnetic field directed away from the Earth, while blue filaments have a magnetic field directed towards our planet.

Among other things, the image shows the stellar disk of the galaxy - it is depicted in pink.

Scientists with the new image are trying to figure out how the galaxy's magnetic structure works. They want to understand how common such magnetic fields are in galactic halos and what forms they take. The researchers hope that in the end this will help to understand how galaxies acquire magnetic fields and whether all of them are created by the dynamo effect (that is, are independently generated as a result of a certain movement of gas).

The work on the new study was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics; the results are reported briefly on the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) website.

Recommended: