A Vast “Magnetic Tunnel” May Surround Earth and Our Entire Solar System

Space Tunnel Concept

Space tunnel artist’s concept.

A University of Toronto astronomer’s research suggests the solar system is surrounded by a magnetic tunnel that can be seen in radio waves.

Jennifer West, a research associate at the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, is making a scientific case that two bright structures seen on opposite sides of the sky – previously considered to be separate – are actually connected and are made of rope-like filaments. The connection forms what looks like a tunnel around our solar system.

The data results of West’s research have been published in the Astrophysical Journal.

“If we were to look up in the sky,” says West, “we would see this tunnel-like structure in just about every direction we looked – that is, if we had eyes that could see radio light.”

Called “the North Polar Spur” and “the Fan Region,” astronomers have known about these two structures for decades, West says. But most scientific explanations have focused on them individually. West and her colleagues, by contrast, believe they are the first astronomers to connect them as a unit.

North Polar Spur and Fan Region

Left: A curving tunnel, with lines formed by the tunnel lights and road lane markers, forms a similar geometry to the proposed model of the North Polar Spur and Fan Region. Credit: photo by Pixabay/ illustration by Jennifer West. Right: The sky as it would appear in radio polarized waves. Credit: image by Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory/Villa Elisa telescope/ESA/Planck Collaboration/Stellarium/Jennifer West

Made up of charged particles and a magnetic field, the structures are shaped like long ropes, and are located about 350 light-years away from us – and are about 1,000 light-years long.

“That’s the equivalent distance of traveling between Toronto and Vancouver two trillion times,” West says.

West has been thinking about these features on and off for 15 years – ever since she first saw a map of the radio sky. More recently, she built a computer model that calculated what the radio sky would look like from Earth as she varied the shape and location of the long ropes. The model allowed West to “build” the structure around us, and showed her what the sky would look like through our telescopes. It was this new perspective that helped her to match the model to the data.

Proposed Filaments Milky Way Galaxy

Illustrated map of Milky Way Galaxy shown with the position and size of proposed filaments. Inset shows a more detailed view of the Local environments, and the position of Local Bubble and various nearby dust clouds. Credit: Image by NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt/SSC/Caltech with annotations by Jennifer West

“A few years ago, one of our co-authors, Tom Landecker, told me about a paper from 1965 – from the early days of radio astronomy,” West says. “Based on the crude data available at this time, the authors [Mathewson and Milne], speculated that these polarized radio signals could arise from our view of the Local Arm of the galaxy, from inside it.

“That paper inspired me to develop this idea and tie my model to the vastly better data that our telescopes give us today.”

West uses the Earth’s map as an example. The North pole is on the top and the equator is through the middle – unless you re-draw the map from a different perspective. The same is true for the map of our galaxy. “Most astronomers look at a map with the North pole of the galaxy up and the galactic center in the middle,” West explains. “An important part that inspired this idea was to remake that map with a different point in the middle.”

Jennifer West


Jennifer West, a researcher at U of T’s Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, says two magnetic structures seen on opposite sides of the sky form what looks like a tunnel around the solar system. Credit: Photo courtesy of Jennifer West

“This is extremely clever work,” says Bryan Gaensler, a professor at the Dunlap Institute and an author of the publication. “When Jennifer first pitched this to me, I thought it was too ‘out-there’ to be a possible explanation. But she was ultimately able to convince me. Now, I’m excited to see how the rest of the astronomy community reacts.”

An expert in magnetism in galaxies and the interstellar medium, West looks forward to the more possible discoveries connected to this research.

“Magnetic fields don’t exist in isolation,” she says. “They all must to connect to each other. So, a next step is to better understand how this local magnetic field connects both to the larger-scale galactic magnetic field, and also to the smaller scale magnetic fields of our sun and Earth.”

In the meantime, West agrees that the new “tunnel” model not only brings new insight to the science community, but also a ground-breaking concept for the rest of us.

“I think it’s just awesome to imagine that these structures are everywhere whenever we look up into the night sky.”

Reference: “A Unified Model for the Fan Region and the North Polar Spur: A bundle of filaments in the Local Galaxy” by J. L. West, T. L. Landecker, B. M. Gaensler, T. Jaffe and A. S. Hill, Accepted, Astrophysical Journal.
arXiv:2109.14720

29 Comments on "A Vast “Magnetic Tunnel” May Surround Earth and Our Entire Solar System"

  1. Yep! A tunnel through Space and Time. AKA: an Infundibular “Sink” and/or a TEMPORAL/CAUSAL LOOP, wherein nothing REALLY changes as much as it stays the same.
    That’s the EFFECT. CAUSE: A Minor Galaxy “merging” with the Major Milky Way at a critical angle. Just look up. We should be “aligned to the groove” not SKEWED. So the Cosmic Needle “skips”.
    Graviton. Graviton. Who’s got the Graviton? Think of that “particle wave” as the “flipper” and US as the PINBALL.
    See this speculative gyre as a “differing DIAGNOSIS”. All’s fair in Science, Love and War. Proof lays in the many turns the Human Race has taken on THAT ride “around the block”.
    Welcome to Cosmic Disney World. Enjoy! You’ve already paid the price of ADMISSION…
    💬
    😳

  2. Dylan Gleyo Dasico | October 23, 2021 at 7:56 pm | Reply

    Could it be a vacuum tunnel?

    • Torbjörn Larsson | October 24, 2021 at 12:39 am | Reply

      It certainly is a vacuum in interplanetary space, but that isn’t what they have discovered. The magnetic funnel follows the spiral arm our Sun lies in, and they see some signs that happens elsewhere in the Milky Way.

      The mechanism that is promoted by the results is that the spiral density wave arms tend to make new stars and the largest go supernova compressing the galactic fields along the spiral arms for some appreciable time. So the arms may tend to delineate spokes in a spiral like field configuration. Or at least that is how I interpreted the model they propose.

  3. Alan Keen Massey | October 24, 2021 at 3:16 am | Reply

    They are the Sci Fi worm holes that allow spacecraft with magnetic and polarised sensors and maglev capabilities to travel the worm holes at speeds faster than light.Using worm hole maps and sensors to guide them to the planets they wish to travel too.

  4. Isn’t that what we used to call a “Black Hole”?

  5. the magnetic alignments

    1000 light year wide 34,000 light years long perseus arm
    its a cross lattice spar linking sagittarius arm to perseus arm
    perseus side =======orion spur========sagiattarius side
    3,500 light years wide 20,000 light years long orion arm
    350 light years wide 1000 light years long orion spur hence smaller where the sun is located
    from the picture shown
    starting at the zodiacal constellations
    cancer crab
    gemini twins I leo lion
    orion cygnus x light at end of tunnel north hemisphere
    I south hemisphere
    taurus bull I virgo virgin
    aries ram —— 350 light years ————–libra balance
    pisces fishes I scorpio scorpion
    I sagittarius archer
    aquarius water bearer I galaxy centre
    north hemisphere I
    south hemisphere
    capricornus sea goat
    the light at the end of the tunnel towards galaxy disk
    the northern hemisphere
    cygnus constellation approx 2000 light years away or cygnus x 6400 light years away if you can image it

    from the northern hemisphere
    in real distance at the zodiac region 350 light years wide
    1 light year down the tube 350 light years wide
    2 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears 175 light years wide
    4 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears 87.5 light years wide
    8 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears 43.75 light years wide
    16 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears 21.875 light years wide
    32 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears 10.9375 light years wide
    64 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears 5.46875 light years
    128 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears 2.784375 light years
    256 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears 1.3921875 light years
    512 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears .69609375 light years
    1024 light years down the tube 350 light years wide appears .348046875 light years looking down at cygnus constellation connected to the orion spur which is connected to the thin galactic disk connected to the thick galactic disk connected to the galactic bulge connected to the milky way galactic centre

    the light at the beginning of the tunnel
    the southern hemisphere
    starting at the zodiacal constellations
    cancer crab
    gemini twins I leo lion
    orion I north hemisphere
    I south hemisphere
    taurus bull I virgo virgin
    aries ram —— 350 light years ————–libra balance
    pisces fishes I scorpio scorpion
    aquarius water bearer I sagittarius archer
    I light at the end of tunnel perseus transit
    north hemisphere I
    south hemisphere
    capricornus sea goat
    its between the orion nebula and gum nebula maybe half way between them ending up at the southern hemisphere region

    and the southern hemisphere the southern zodiac
    to the perseus transit region all 350 light year wide tunnel
    1000 light years long linking the perseus arm to the orion arm and orion spur

    it like a greenhouse polytunnel effect except we are growing and cultivating and gardening stars with magnetic fields and all these stars form the north polar spur and fan region effect

  6. as that alignment did not succeed ill try this one

    the magnetic alignments

    1000 light year wide 34,000 light years long perseus arm
    its a cross lattice spar linking sagittarius arm to perseus arm
    perseus side =======orion spur========sagiattarius side
    3,500 light years wide 20,000 light years long orion arm
    350 light years wide 1000 light years long orion spur hence smaller where the sun is located
    from the picture shown
    starting at the zodiacal constellations
    . cancer crab
    gemini twins I leo lion
    orion cygnus x light at end of tunnel north hemisphere
    . I south hemisphere
    taurus bull I virgo virgin
    aries ram ————————-350 light years ————–libra balance
    pisces fishes I scorpio scorpion
    . I sagittarius archer
    aquarius water bearer I galaxy centre
    north hemisphere I
    . south hemisphere
    . capricornus sea goat
    the light at the end of the tunnel towards galaxy disk
    the northern hemisphere
    cygnus constellation approx 2000 light years away or cygnus x 6400 light years away if you can image it

  7. last try third time lucky
    this is the route i have to take because of the page printing of this comment system
    the magnetic alignments

    1000 light year wide 34,000 light years long perseus arm
    its a cross lattice spar linking sagittarius arm to perseus arm
    perseus side =======orion spur========sagiattarius side
    3,500 light years wide 20,000 light years long orion arm
    350 light years wide 1000 light years long orion spur hence smaller where the sun is located
    from the picture shown
    starting at the zodiacal constellations circular effect
    ……………………………..cancer crab
    gemini..twins……………………….I…………………leo….lion
    orion………………………cygnus x light at end of tunnel….north hemisphere
    …………………………………..I……………………..south hemisphere
    taurus…bull……………………….I…………………………virgo…..virgin
    aries…ram————————–350 light years————–libra balance
    pisces…fishes……………………..I…………………….scorpio scorpion
    …………………………………..I…………………….sagittarius archer
    aquarius….water bearer……………..I………………………….galaxy centre
    north hemisphere…………………….I
    ……………..south hemisphere
    ………………………………capricornus sea goat
    the light at the end of the tunnel the northern hemisphere towards galaxy disk
    cygnus constellation approx 2000 light years away or cygnus x 6400 light years away if you can image it

  8. I remember reading a fringe scifi theory years ago that our solar system was protected by a bubble by aliens and they would not take it down until they saw we were a responsible species and able to join the galaxy. Perhaps that is what this is. 🤔

  9. Ah!, now it all makes sense.

  10. What? Like an artery?

  11. Could this be a invisible hollowgenitic time tunnel that man has no understanding of. So much more to be learned and discover. Space I believe is infinite. But somewhere out there could there be duplicate planets. Living unknown origins. This may be a mystery that won’t get solved.but I believe aliens do exist. God gives the knowledge for us to know as our abled mind and body is allowed. Then again answers may come to present.

  12. This is surprising. Space is full is surprises. Who knows what things are there..

  13. Were actually a part of particles like germs floats around in a hugh world similar to dust in your attic in far corner, one day somebody will come in the attic and turn the light on and everybody eyes will see them and they will be so hugh we would die in fear, think about some germs in your attic thats been there for a while, it you was that small it would be a whole world of your own just being living germs, each planet are just other germs our eye and technology arent advanced enough to even understand it are see it….end of the story, so just live and die like the germs we are

  14. How did science explain God?
    When science have no believe in God.

  15. All very interesting stuff but how does it affect us and can we change or use it? If not then what’s the point of spending billions on the project when we could be trying to get our current problems fixed?

  16. It didn’t happen so when or if it does do they know ?

  17. If we see the tunnel by spiritual view and Indian mythological angle I see its right magnetic bed or pathhole for space travel provided for humans ahead ,,with faster than even speed of light,,, the only way to propoget without any burning fuel from even one galaxy to other(“Naryan Narayan”),,,but we have to workout more …..well done efforts Mam…Best luck…

  18. The magnetic tunnel in the photograph gif above reminds me of an old TV series I used to watch from the UK called Doctor who when the tardis was flying through time and space

  19. Maybe we are on a big space ship travelling through time.

  20. Philippe Martin | October 25, 2021 at 1:15 pm | Reply

    Good Day and hello to all of you. I did make many comment on YouTube about this. And now poof!!!! It is realy existing. I wonder why not you? I know it’s because I always lie. Sincères amitiés 😎

  21. That explains what I went through….it was absolutely incredible and so holographically geometrically perfect and swirling until I got to the parts that were withering away and lost all the beautiful hues.

  22. Brandon Blankenship | October 27, 2021 at 3:16 pm | Reply

    Sounds like a ton of horse sh*t that will never be proven just like the rest of the theories about space.

  23. Johnny Kirkland | October 27, 2021 at 4:12 pm | Reply

    Looks like mother natures vagina

  24. This literally says to me f!at ea4th is reeI and we are looking at space(?) From the perspective of every thing moving(magnetic strings)to connected on either end but on the inside

  25. … hmh…

  26. its breaking news and its awful news just blows away all that i wrote previously but one lives to learn and get on with it
    its terrible awaful dire news
    you know like that they said it was 300 light years wide well its a lot bigger 1000 light years diameter read on
    15 million years ago when the first supernova went off in our local oddly shaped minor superbubble the sun was far away from the action approximately 1000 light years distance away in the milky way galaxy
    5 million years ago when the tenth supernova went off in our local oddly shaped minor superbubble of approximately 600 light years diameter the suns proper motion path through the milky way galaxy took it right through the outer surface circumference and into the 600 light years diameter minor superbubble
    2022ad the suns proper motion path through the oddly shaped minor superbubble took it almost right into the bubbles centre where the sun moon and earth now sit
    2022 january 12th
    Star formation near the sun is driven by expansion of the local oddly shaped minor superbubble
    1000 light year wide oddly shaped minor superbubble
    Thousands of young stars within 500 light years are formed by the vast oddly shaped minor superbubble all young stars and seven star forming regions or dense molecular cloud regions sit on the surface circumference of the 1000 light diameter oddly shaped minor superbubble known as the local 1000 light year diameter oddly shaped minor superbubble
    And its still growing
    So that also means like you know when the sun was positioned at the top of the tunnel well now its right there in the middle in the very centre
    Unless unless the suns proper motion heliosheath heliosphere can be tracked across this oddly shaped minor superbubble
    You have to advise me how the sun stays in the top roof of your tunnel
    Red alert red alert revision required for this overarching magnetic field now 1000 light years diameter across width length and height
    here it is in all its glory

    POSTED INSPACE
    1,000 Light-Year-Wide Bubble Surrounding Earth Is Source of All Young Stars Nearby
    by Smithsonian Institutes January 16, 2022
    Artist’s illustration of the Local Bubble with star formation occurring on the bubble’s surface. Scientists have now shown how a chain of events beginning 14 million years ago with a set of powerful supernovae led to the creation of the vast bubble, responsible for the formation of all young stars within 500 light-years of the sun and Earth. Credit: Leah Hustak (STScI

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