Magnetar
Explanation:
What do you call a neutron star with a super-strong magnetic field?
You guessed it ...
a Magnetar.
Imagine a star with more mass than the sun,
the density of a neutron, and
a magnetic field about a thousand trillion (a one followed by
15 zeroes) times stronger than Earth's.
It sounds exotic and theoretical, but
strong evidence for the existence of magnetars has recently
been announced based
on data from orbiting
X-ray and
Gamma-ray observatories.
Neutron stars are formed in the violent crucibles of
stellar explosions.
Some become pulsars
with relatively weak magnetic fields,
spinning and emitting pulses of
electromagnetic radiation as their rotation slows.
However, astronomers now believe that some become magnetars,
with magnetic fields so intense that the solid neutron star crust
buckles and shifts under its influence.
The resulting star quakes could repeatedly
generate brief flashes of hard X-rays and soft gamma-rays
giving rise to the rare but
mysterious "soft gamma repeaters"
(not to be confused with "
gamma-ray bursters"!).
This still frame from an
animation illustrating a spinning, flashing magnetar
emphasizes the looping magnetic field lines embedded in the X-ray hot
neutron star surface.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
