Researchers have made groundbreaking discoveries about the Milky Way Galaxy’s magnetic turbulence using a highly advanced computer model. The model reveals that magnetic fields play a crucial role in shaping the galaxy’s energy, contradicting decades of existing astrophysical theories.
The team used Germany’s Leibniz Supercomputing Centre’s ultra-powerful SuperMUC-NG supercomputer to run their unprecedented model, which generated data on interstellar mass – the cosmic medium filling space between planets. The findings suggest that magnetic fields affect energy in the interstellar mass by overpowering small-scale motions and increasing Alfvén waves.
This research challenges current understanding of astrophysical turbulence and has significant implications for future space navigation, particularly as crewed missions aim to explore Mars and beyond. The team’s model provides a highly scalable solution, allowing researchers to study magnetic fields at various scales – from 30 light-years away to the granularity needed for investigating solar winds’ impact on Earth.
The discoveries also shed new light on cosmic matters such as star formation, cosmic ray propagation, and interstellar mass. By representing density changes across the interstellar mass, the model can predict and monitor space weather better, providing insights into the plasma environment around satellites and future space missions.
While this is not the end of research cycle, Beattie’s team continues to push the model higher resolution while testing it against real-world data. The findings were published on May 13, 2025, in Nature Astronomy, offering a new perspective on the universe’s complex phenomena.
Source: https://thedebrief.org/new-milky-way-model-explores-what-lies-between-the-stars-with-surprising-revelations