FOR the first time, astronomers have mapped the magnetic field of a star
other than the Sun. The star, TX Camelopardalis, is about 1000 light years away
and has a magnetic field shaped much like that of the Earth or the Sun. 鈥淚t鈥檚
not unexpected, but it鈥檚 nice to have it confirmed,鈥� says Philip Diamond of the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico.
Diamond and his colleague Athol Kemball used data from an array of radio
telescopes dotted across the US to measure the polarisation of the radio waves
emitted by molecules of silicon monoxide at different points in the star鈥檚
atmosphere. Polarisation is related to the orientation of the magnetic field. In
the computer-generated image above, the streaks of light blue give an indication
of the direction of the field at those points.
In the latest issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters (vol 481, p L111),
the researchers say that the magnetic field lines tend to follow the
star鈥檚 lines of longitude and make a bar-magnet pattern.
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