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Astronomers Solve Magnetic Fields Mystery

Posted by timothy on from the let's-say-this-beach-ball-is-your-head dept.

An anonymous reader writes "It is a long-standing and unsolved mystery why 80% of all planetary nebulae are not spherical. Theories suggest that magnetic fields play a role in shaping planetary nebulae. A team of astronomers from Germany has now discovered the first direct clue that magnetic fields might indeed create these remarkable shapes. Planetary nebulae are expanding gas shells that are ejected by Sun-like stars at the end of their lifetimes."

1 of 159 comments (clear)

  1. Re:this about that by drawfour · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    A couple in the Hamptons has asked the same group of scientists to determine why socks dissapear in the dryer. Film at eleven.
    This is a common misconception. The socks actually get lost in the WASHER, in the tiny groove underneath the spinner (I don't know what to call it) and the bottom of the washer. You dry your clothes, and you come out with an odd number of socks. At some other time (next load of laundry perhaps), the sock becomes dislodged, and you toss it into the dryer. Again, you have an odd number of socks, so you assume you lost another one. However, you've really just added one back.