Magnetic fields lines in Messier 82 overlaid on a visible-and-infrared composite from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The galactic superwind from the central starburst is blasting out plumes of hot gas (red) and a halo of smoky dust (yellow/orange) perpendicular to the edge-on galaxy (white). Researchers used IR polarization data from SOFIA and tools that have been utilized extensively to study the physics around the Sun to extrapolate the potential magnetic field strength and structure up to 10 kpc around the galaxy. The field lines appear to extend indefinitely into intergalactic space, like the Sun’s solar wind, creating magnetic highways that channel star-processed matter beyond the starburst core.
Additional Information
Magnetic Highway: Channeling the M82 Superwind
United States
