At a distance of just 25,000 light years (2.5 × 10~(20) m), the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, provides the foundation for understanding phenomena in other galaxies. The central black hole (1) and regions of intense star formation in its vicinity can be probed at 100 times the resolution of even the nearest galaxies. Nonetheless, even the basic properties of a key component of the galactic center, its magnetic field, remain poorly understood. Magnetic fields have the potential to transform, store, and explosively release energy, to transport angular momentum, and to confine high-energy plasmas into powerful jet flows. They are therefore central to astrophysical activity from stellar to galactic scales.
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