IIA-led astronomers find strongest evidence of how cosmic dust aligns with the Galaxy's magnetic field
A team led by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru, reported the strongest observational evidence yet of how interstellar dust grains align with magnetic fields, using observations of the star-forming cloud G34.43+0.24, PIB said on 3 September 2025.
Summary
A team of astronomers led by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, has produced the strongest observational evidence yet for the long-theorised ways in which interstellar dust grains align with magnetic fields in the Milky Way, PIB reported on 3 September 2025. The team studied the massive star-forming infrared dark cloud G34.43+0.24, about 12,000 light-years away, which hosts protostars including MM1, MM2 and MM3. They used the POL-2 polarimeter on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii to map how dust in the cloud aligns with magnetic fields. Starlight polarisation by interstellar dust was first discovered in 1949.
Key facts
- Reported
- 3 Sep 2025 (PIB)
- Lead institute
- Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru (DST)
- Target
- Infrared dark cloud G34.43+0.24, ~12,000 light-years away
- Instrument
- POL-2 polarimeter, James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, Hawaii
- Finding
- Strongest observational evidence of dust-grain alignment with magnetic fields
- History
- Starlight polarisation discovered in 1949
Practice MCQs 2 questions
Which institute led the study, reported in September 2025, providing the strongest observational evidence of interstellar dust grains aligning with the Galaxy's magnetic field?
Show answer
Correct answer: B — Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru
The team was led by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, an autonomous institute of DST.
The IIA-led dust alignment study used the POL-2 polarimeter on which telescope?
Show answer
Correct answer: A — James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, Hawaii
The researchers used the POL-2 polarimeter on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii to map the cloud G34.43+0.24.