This was revealed by the SALSA program, the results of which appear in a study by an international team of researchers, including Eva Ntormousi of the Scuola Normale Superiore.

PISA, 14 June 2023. In the universe, in addition to the mysteries concerning the formation of stars and galaxies, another fascinating phenomenon is hidden: galactic magnetism. Millions of times weaker than those of a magnet, interstellar magnetic fields play a crucial role in the development of galaxies. They can guide gas towards the black hole in the center of galaxies, regulate star formation and even influence the movement of gas in the galactic disk. However, interstellar magnetic fields are inherently very difficult to study and astronomers must therefore use specialized telescopes for their observation.

The SALSA (Survey on extragALactic magnetiSm with SOFIA) program, dedicated to the in-depth study of extragalactic magnetism, has made a discovery regarding the galactic magnetic fields present in 15 galaxies around our galaxy, the Milky Way.

Thanks to observations in the infrared band it was possible to observe complex and chaotic magnetic fields, unlike the magnetic fields traced by emission in radio waves, which instead appear very ordered. A discovery that brings us closer to a theory of galactic evolution that includes the crucial effects of the magnetic field.