Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2025

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2025 A stronomers have created a detailed map revealing the magnetic fields weaving through TW Hydrae, one of the clos- est known stars with a planet-form- ing disk, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (AL- MA). Led by Dr. Richard Teague at MIT, this new research sheds light on the invisible forces shaping new planets, like those that formed our own solar system over 4.5 billion years ago. Planets originate in swirl- ing disks of gas and dust that encir- cle young stars. While telescopes have revealed the shapes and gaps in these disks, scientists have strug- gled to measure magnetic fields, the unseen agents that guide and sculpt planet-forming material. Magnetic fields are widely thought Magnetic fields thread TW Hydrae’s protoplanetary disk by National Radio Astronomy Observatory