Next Article
How cosmic dust aligns with magnetic fields in our galaxy
Astronomers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) just made a big leap in figuring out how cosmic dust grains line up with magnetic fields in our galaxy.
Using a high-tech telescope, they focused on a star-forming cloud about 12,000 light-years away—helping us understand one of the key steps behind the birth of stars and planets in the Milky Way.
Dust grains get aligned in 3 main ways
The team found three main ways dust grains get aligned: through special types of radiation (RAT-A), breaking apart under strong light (RAT-D), and getting an extra boost from magnetic fields (M-RAT).
Their work gives astronomers better tools to map galactic magnetic fields, which is crucial for unlocking more secrets about how our galaxy—and maybe even others—evolve.