Slinky, the new star of space

[emad]

An astronomical “Slinky”, above, has been found coiled around a gas cloud in the constellation of Orion.



The spiral magnetic field, the first of its kind to be observed in interstellar space, shows that magnetic forces help to shape interstellar molecular clouds, the birthplace of stars, by squeezing them.

Timothy Robishaw, an astronomer at the University of California, Berkeley, likened the field to the toy spring that climbs down stairs. “You can think of this structure as a giant, magnetic Slinky,” he said.

http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,258585,00.jpg

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1982472,00.html