Magnetic-Field Discovery Gives Clues to Galaxy-Formation ProcessesMagnetic fields exist everywhere in the Universe, but there is still little idea how important they are for the evolution of cosmic objects. Radio waves are an ideal means to measure magnetic fields in galaxies. In a long-standing effort, Rainer Beck from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, Germany, gathered a huge data set of the nearby galaxy IC 342 from observations with two of the world’s largest radio telescopes, NRAO’s Very Large Array and the 100-m radio telescope of the MPIfR, in four different wavelength bands, from 2.8 cm to 21 cm. An ordered magnetic field mostly aligned along the optical spiral arms was discovered. The discovery helps to explain how galactic spiral arms are formed. The same study also shows how gas can be funneled inward toward the center of IC 342.
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