Magnetic Field Detected Around Young Star |
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Written by spacetravel.org
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Saturday, 26 November 2005 23:09 |
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Jean-François Donati and his team at the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées in Toulouse have observed magnetic fields in a bright disk called FU Orionis which surrounds a young star. The researchers used ESPaDOnS, a new high-resolution instrument on the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, to detect light from the disk which was polarised by the magnetic fields. This is the first time that the magnetic fields around a young star have been detected.
The observations may help explain why some stars appear to shoot out violent jets of matter, but others do not. Theoretical models say that the magnetic fields in a dusty disk around a young star should slow the stars rotation. This will allow dust to fall onto the star, encouraging it to grow. According to team member Jérome Bouvier of the Astrophysical Laboratory of Grenoble in France, many young stars shoot out jets of material from their poles. This has been attributed to the magnetic fields in and around them funneling material outward. This young star does not have such jets, possibly because its magnetic fields are slowing it disk's rotation more than expected.
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