{"id":15202,"date":"2024-11-25T05:50:55","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T11:50:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/?p=15202"},"modified":"2024-11-25T05:50:58","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T11:50:58","slug":"eureka-moment-how-calgary-researchers-discovered-a-magnetic-field-in-the-milky-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/eternal-eureka-moment-how-calgary-researchers-discovered-a-magnetic-field-in-the-milky-way","title":{"rendered":"Eureka Moment: How Calgary Researchers Discovered a Magnetic Field in the Milky Way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In 2020, two students from the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary, Russell Shanahan and Steven Lemmer, achieved a celestial breakthrough. Their cosmic-scale discovery provided an unprecedented view of the magnetic structure of the Milky Way galaxy and the process of star formation. More on <a href=\"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/\">icalgary<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a1b37a7d7050\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a1b37a7d7050\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/eternal-eureka-moment-how-calgary-researchers-discovered-a-magnetic-field-in-the-milky-way\/#A_5-Year_Research_Journey\" >A 5-Year Research Journey<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/eternal-eureka-moment-how-calgary-researchers-discovered-a-magnetic-field-in-the-milky-way\/#Role_of_Advanced_Technology\" >Role of Advanced Technology<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/eternal-eureka-moment-how-calgary-researchers-discovered-a-magnetic-field-in-the-milky-way\/#International_Impact\" >International Impact<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/eternal-eureka-moment-how-calgary-researchers-discovered-a-magnetic-field-in-the-milky-way\/#About_the_Milky_Way\" >About the Milky Way<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_5-Year_Research_Journey\"><\/span>A 5-Year Research Journey<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The students worked with data from the international THOR Project\u2014a comprehensive study of interstellar gas in the Milky Way. Assisting them was radio astronomer and associate professor Jeroen Stil, who had over 30 years of experience in radio astronomy and 15 years in survey work at the time. The research spanned five years, with Russell focusing on data processing, image creation, and technical analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"567\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.icalgary.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2024\/11\/17090551\/1-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15203\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.icalgary.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2024\/11\/17090551\/1-9.png 567w, https:\/\/cdn.icalgary.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2024\/11\/17090551\/1-9-265x300.png 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 567px) 100vw, 567px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While analyzing one part of the Milky Way, the researchers detected something unexpected in a distant spiral arm\u201418,000 light-years from Earth. As Russell Shanahan told Global News, the initial reaction was skepticism; they thought it might be an error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team analyzed three-dimensional images: the X and Y planes of the image and a third plane representing frequencies. These frequencies revealed waves of magnetic fields interacting with plasma. In one corner of the galaxy, they detected frequency signatures that went off the charts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"569\" height=\"643\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.icalgary.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2024\/11\/17090550\/2-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.icalgary.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2024\/11\/17090550\/2-5.png 569w, https:\/\/cdn.icalgary.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2024\/11\/17090550\/2-5-265x300.png 265w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 569px) 100vw, 569px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The discovered structure is a combination of the galaxy&#8217;s magnetic field and the plasma within it. The field observed in the galaxy&#8217;s arm represented a surge of data that no one had anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Role_of_Advanced_Technology\"><\/span>Role of Advanced Technology<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This breakthrough was made possible by advancements in technology. Scientists had been searching for this region of the galaxy since the 1980s but couldn\u2019t find it because radio telescopes lacked the capability to detect such a strong effect. The THOR Project had access to the Very Large Array\u2014a system of 28 radio telescopes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The magnetic field provided a clearer picture of the galaxy\u2019s composition and insights into star formation. Until then, the process of star formation remained unclear. The discovery suggests that magnetic fields play a more significant role in star formation than previously thought. Compression of gas and strengthening magnetic fields may be the initial processes leading to the collapse of molecular gas and dust, eventually resulting in star formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"International_Impact\"><\/span>International Impact<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The discovery was published in the Astrophysical Journal, garnering international attention and prompting additional studies. Shanahan and Stil traveled to Germany to present their findings to the global scientific community. When they unveiled their results in Berlin, the reaction was shock\u2014no one had anticipated such a discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The finding spurred numerous follow-up actions. An international team proposed dedicated observation time on telescopes. Meanwhile, several other students began investigating the implications of the discovery for future research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"About_the_Milky_Way\"><\/span>About the Milky Way<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Milky Way (also known as the Galaxy, the Way of God, or the Milky Path) is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. It also refers to the stars visible to the naked eye, recognized as a faint, luminous band across the celestial sphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first to suggest that the Milky Way consists of distant stars was the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus. In the 18th century, British astronomer William Herschel attempted to determine the galaxy&#8217;s dimensions. He found that the star system was finite in size and formed a thick disk. Its true size was determined in the 20th century: the main disk of the Milky Way spans approximately 100,000\u2013120,000 light-years in diameter and 250,000\u2013300,000 light-years in circumference. Alongside stars, the Milky Way contains gas and dust clouds that obscure light from distant stars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2020, two students from the Faculty of Science at the University of Calgary, Russell Shanahan and Steven Lemmer, achieved a celestial breakthrough. Their cosmic-scale discovery provided an unprecedented view of the magnetic structure of the Milky Way galaxy and the process of star formation. More on icalgary. A 5-Year Research Journey The students worked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":518,"featured_media":15209,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4819],"tags":[6965,6970,6969,6975,6963,6971,6962,6967,6972,6968,6961,6974,6973,6964,6966],"motype":[4825],"moformat":[88],"moimportance":[32,35],"class_list":{"0":"post-15202","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-innovator","8":"tag-calgary-researchers","9":"tag-calgary-science-breakthrough","10":"tag-cosmic-plasma-and-fields","11":"tag-galaxy-magnetic-structure","12":"tag-interstellar-gas-study","13":"tag-jeroen-stil-radio-astronomy","14":"tag-magnetic-field-milky-way","15":"tag-milky-way-arm-exploration","16":"tag-milky-way-discovery","17":"tag-milky-way-star-formation","18":"tag-russell-shanahan-findings","19":"tag-star-birth-insights","20":"tag-steven-lemmer-astrophysics","21":"tag-thor-project-astronomy","22":"tag-very-large-array-telescopes","23":"motype-eternal","24":"moformat-copywriting","25":"moimportance-golovna-novyna","26":"moimportance-retranslyacziya-v-agregatory"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15202"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15202\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15212,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15202\/revisions\/15212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15202"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=15202"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=15202"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icalgary.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=15202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}