Biggest universal magnetic map unlocks new chapter of space research

Scientists from CSIRO and Square Kilometre Array Observatory have created the biggest magnetic map of the universe ever made.

Data gathered by the enormous radio telescope in Western Australia's Midwest made the project possible.

The SPICE-RACS map will aid further research into space, stars and distant galaxies.

Scientists around the world are celebrating the creation of the largest magnetic map of the universe ever produced.

Five times larger than all previous efforts combined, the map will serve as a gateway to more answers about the material between stars, distant galaxies and how the universe has evolved over billions of years.

The project was created by an international team of researchers using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), an enormous radio telescope in Western Australia's remote Midwest.

SPICE-RACS works on the principle that light twists as it travels through magnetic fields. (Supplied: CSIRO)

The team was led by Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, and the SKA Observatory (SKAO), an intergovernmental organisation building two of the world's largest radio telescopes.

The new map, called SPICE-RACS, works on the principle that light twists as it travels through magnetic fields.

SKAO Lead researcher Alec Thomson said his team found magnetic fields and determined their strength by measuring twists in the light detected by ASKAP.

He said measures were collected from nearly four million galaxies and reprocessed with original data to create the full picture.

Alec Thomson says his team found magnetic fields by measuring twists in the light detected by ASKAP. (Supplied: SKAO)

SKAO's Chief Scientist Naomi McClure-Griffiths said SPICE-RACS was a huge leap forward, enabling researchers to answer questions they once thought were impossible.

"For the past 20 years, we have been working with essentially the same data set, which didn't even cover the southern sky," she said.

The map is accessible to scientists around the world through the CSIRO's data access portal.

CSIRO astronomer Tim Galvin said the data was already being used by many research teams.

"By having these resources freely available, we're supporting the continued advancement of our collective understanding of the universe," he said.

CSIRO's ASKAP radio telescope on Wajarri Yamatji Country can see huge areas of the sky at once. (Supplied: CSIRO/Alex Cherney)

CSIRO said a magnetic image of this size was made possible by ASKAP's ability to see huge areas of the sky at once, at a greater depth than many other telescopes.

The radio telescope is b