{
  "id": 585840,
  "title": "Twisted magnetic field around newborn star confirms decades-old jet theory",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/11/twisted-magnetic-field-around-newborn-star-confirms-decades-old-jet",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-11T17:20:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-magnetic-field-newborn-star-decades.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have captured the first direct, high-resolution images of a magnetic field tightly wrapped around the gas outflow from a forming star. This breakthrough solves a long-standing puzzle about how young stars create powerful jets. The research team, led by Tao-Chung Ching, focused on the young double-star system NGC 1333 IRAS 4A, located about 960 light-years from Earth. By measuring the polarization of carbon monoxide gas, the team traced the shape and strength of the magnetic field, finding it wrapped around the outflow like a coil, perpendicular to the gas flow and matching the outflow's rotation. This geometry, known as a toroidal or donut-shaped magnetic field, matches theoretical predictions for decades. The study also revealed a simple mathematical relationship between the twisted magnetic field and the electric currents in the gas, providing a new method to determine magnetic field directions in star-forming regions. Understanding how magnetic fields shape stellar outflows is crucial for explaining how young stars shed excess material and angular momentum without collapsing.",
  "summary": "Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) is a partner, have captured the first direct, high-resolution images of a magnetic field wrapped tightly around the outflow of gas streaming away from a forming star—evidence that solves a decades-old puzzle about how young stars…",
  "key_points": [
    "First direct, high-resolution images of twisted magnetic field around forming star captured by ALMA.",
    "Young double-star system NGC 1333 IRAS 4A studied, located 960 light-years from Earth.",
    "Toroidal magnetic field geometry matches decades-old theoretical predictions."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}