MPIfR: Magnetized Gas Flows Feed a Young Star Cluster

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MPIfR: Magnetized Gas Flows Feed a Young Star Cluster

Post by bystander » Wed Aug 19, 2020 4:20 pm

Magnetized Gas Flows Feed a Young Star Cluster
Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy | 2020 Aug 18

Polarimetric observations with SOFIA/HAWC+ show the orientation of magnetic field lines

Observations of magnetic fields in interstellar clouds made of gas and dust indicate that these clouds are strongly magnetized, and that magnetic fields influence the formation of stars within them. A key observation is that the orientation of their internal structure is closely related to that of the magnetic field.

To understand the role of magnetic fields, an international research team ... observed the filamentary network of the dense gas surrounding a young star cluster in the solar neighboorhood, with the HAWC+ polarimeter on the airborne observatory SOFIA at infrared wavelengths. Their research shows that not all dense filaments are created equal. In some of the filaments the magnetic field succumbs to the flow of matter and is pulled into alignment with the filament. Gravitational force takes over in the denser parts of some filaments and the resulting weakly magnetized gas flow can feed the growth of young stellar clusters like a conveyor belt.


The interstellar medium is composed of tenuous gas and dust that fills the vast amount of emptiness between stars. Stretching across the Galaxy, this rather diffuse material happens to be a significant mass reservoir in Galaxies. An important component of this interstellar gas are the cold and dense molecular clouds which hold most of their mass in the form of molecular hydrogen. A major finding in the last decade has been that extensive network of filaments permeate every molecular cloud. A picture has emerged that stars like our own sun form preferentially in dense clusters at the intersection of filaments.

The researchers observed the filamentary network of dense gas around the Serpens South Cluster with HAWC+, a polarization-sensitive detector onboard the airborne observatory SOFIA, in order to understand the role of magnetic fields. Located about 1,400 light-years away from us, the Serpens South cluster is the youngest known cluster in the local neighborhood at the center of a network of dense filament. ...

Magnetized Filamentary Gas Flows Feeding the Young
Embedded Cluster in Serpens South
~ Thushara G.S. Pillai et al
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Re: MPIfR: Magnetized Gas Flows Feed a Young Star Cluster

Post by Ann » Wed Aug 19, 2020 6:45 pm

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Re: MPIfR: Magnetized Gas Flows Feed a Young Star Cluster

Post by BDanielMayfield » Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:49 pm

This confirms suspicions that the electromagnetic force also plays a role in star (and therefore planet) formation. Gravity isn't the complete driver in this story.
Just as zero is not equal to infinity, everything coming from nothing is illogical.

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USRA: Magnetized "Rivers" Feed Star Birth

Post by bystander » Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:07 pm

Magnetized "Rivers" Feed Star Birth
Universities Space Research Association | 2020 Aug 20

Stars like our Sun form when clouds of gas and dust collapse under gravity. But how does the material get from interstellar space into these clouds and what controls their collapse?

This image shows narrow, spindle-like structures, called filaments, that act like rivers channeling material into the Serpens South star cluster, a group of more than 60 young stars that is forming in a dense cloud of gas and dust nearly 1,400 lightyears away. The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, discovered magnetic fields in the region can further fuel star formation. The fields, shown as streamlines over an image from NASA’s retired Spitzer Space Telescope, have been dragged by gravity to align with the narrow, dark filament on the lower left — helping material flow down it. This is different from the upper parts of the image, where the magnetic fields are perpendicular to the filaments as they oppose gravity.

Scientists are studying the dense cloud to learn how magnetic fields, gravity and turbulent gas motions contribute to the creation of stars. Once thought to slow star birth by counteracting gravity, SOFIA’s data reveals magnetic fields may actually be working together with gravity as it pulls the fields into alignment with the filaments, nourishing the birth of stars. ...
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
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