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Reversing Magnetic Poles Observed in Another Star

Posted by Soulskill on from the flip-flopping-before-the-election dept.

Babu 'God' Hoover tips us to news out of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy that for the first time, a magnetic pole reversal has been observed in a star other than our own. Tau Bootis, while similar to the Sun, also has a planet more than six times larger than Jupiter orbiting at only a twentieth of the distance between Earth and the Sun. Scientists hope to use this discovery to learn more about the magnetic dynamics in the Sun, which can affect our telecommunications, among other things.

2 of 49 comments (clear)

  1. Tau Bootis by sakdoctor · · Score: 4, Funny

    Star systems suffer from a similar naming convention problem as open source software.

    Nobody is going to relocate to an outpost in Tau Bootis. On the other hand, everyone would be clambering to go and live at the iPost in Apple Centauri.

  2. Re:The Sun had Bi-Polar disorder. by lexarius · · Score: 3, Funny

    Another example of lazy astropsychology. That's how they're diagnosing every star these days. When's the last time you heard of a star being a magnetic mono-pole? Exactly. I rest my case.