A team of international astronomers, led by China’s Tsinghua University, has used China’s FAST telescope and South Africa’s MeerKAT array to conduct high-precision observations of globular clusters.

Their study, reported by CCTV, a partner of TV BRICS, has resulted in the most detailed measurements to date of magnetic field gradients and ionised gas in these ancient star groupings, offering a clearer picture of the Milky Way’s magnetic field.

The FAST telescope, with its 500-metre dish, is highly sensitive to faint pulsar emissions, while MeerKAT’s 64-antenna array excels at detecting changes in signal polarisation across large sky areas. 

Globular clusters, among the oldest known celestial structures in the galaxy, are dense spheres of stars that often contain pulsars: neutron stars that emit rhythmic electromagnetic signals. 

Measurements taken from 43 pulsars across eight clusters revealed that seven contained no detectable ionised gas, contradicting long-standing theories that predicted such clusters would retain significant gas. According to the study, this suggests they may have internal mechanisms, such as radiation winds from white dwarfs, that effectively clear out gas.

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