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Astrophysics

Magnetic bond

Nature volume 457, pages 158–159 (2009)Cite this article

How low-mass stars produce their ubiquitous magnetic fields has long puzzled astronomers. Models of how Earth accomplishes this task could hold the key to understanding the phenomenon on such stars.

Most of us have probably sprinkled iron filings on a piece of paper laid on top of a bar magnet and seen how they line up in an ordered pattern. The filings trace out the magnetic field produced by the magnet. The strength of the magnetic fields observed in stars and planets, which act like giant bar magnets, varies by several orders of magnitude. Finding the culprit behind this variation has been a challenge. On page 167 of this issue, Christensen et al.1 announce that it is the convective energy flux available that sets the strength of the magnetic field in certain stars.

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Figure 1: The Sun's swirling magnetic field.

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  1. Christopher M. Johns-Krull is in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, USA. cmj@rice.edu,

    Christopher M. Johns-Krull

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  1. Christopher M. Johns-Krull
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Johns-Krull, C. Magnetic bond. Nature 457, 158–159 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/457158a

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