Using Pepsi to see magnetic fields

The Potsdam Echelle Polarimetric and Spectroscopic Instrument, part of the at the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona, rejoices in the acronym PEPSI.

The instrument is designed to detect and record the magnetic fields of stars using a technique called Zeeman-Doppler-Imaging, and its first results have just been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Seen here is a depiction of the magnetic field of a star called II Pegasi, a binary system in the constellation of Pegasus, about 130 light-years from Earth.

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