Astronomers suggest that the solar system is surrounded by a giant magnetic tunnel

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Oct 17, 2021 16:21 GMT

The researchers use a map of the Earth as an example on a smaller scale for their theory.

A team of astronomers suggests that the solar system is surrounded by magnetic tunnel which can be seen through radio waves, as revealed in study Recently published in The Astrophysical Journal.

According to Jennifer West, a researcher at the University of Toronto (Canada) and the lead author of the study, her theory is based on the presence of two bright structures found on both sides of the sky, called the North Pole and the Fan Zone. . Astronomers have known both structures for decades, but most research has focused on them separately. By contrast, West and his colleagues think so connected It consists of charged particles and a magnetic field in the form of long strings. This connection, in turn, forms what appears to be a giant tunnel around our solar system.

“If we looked up at the sky, we would see this tunnel-like structure in almost every direction,” pointing to West. “Of course if we had eyes that could see the light of radio waves,” he explains.

West uses a map of the Earth as an example on a smaller scale for his theory. On our planet, the North Pole is at the top and the Equator is in the middle, unless you look at it from a different perspective. West thinks the same applies to the map of our galaxy.

“Most astronomers look at a map with the galactic north pole facing up and the galactic center in the middle. The important part that inspired this idea was Remake that map With a different viewpoint between them,” he explains.

In this way, using models and simulations, the researchers determined that both structures are about 350 light years from the ground and a length of approx 1000 light yearsThe equivalent of traveling between Toronto and Vancouver two billion times“.

West argues that all “magnetic fields do not exist in isolation.” must call all.

“So the next step is to better understand how this local magnetic field relates to both the large-scale galactic magnetic field and the smaller-scale magnetic fields of our Sun and Earth,” the astronomer adds.

For his part, one of the study’s authors, Brian Gensler, acknowledged that “this is a work very smartThis, at first, he thought was ‘too ‘misplaced’ to be a possible explanation, but eventually the idea convinced him and he is now excited to see the reaction of the rest of the astronomical community.

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