Monthly Archives: June 2009

magnetars, magnetic fields

Magnetar the Magnificent, Reprise

Leave a comment

Magnetars!

Magnetars are the most intensely magnetized objects in the universe. Their magnetic fields are some 10,000 million times stronger than Earth’s. If a magnetar were to magically appear at half the Moon’s distance from Earth, its magnetic field would wipe the details off every credit card on Earth.
Magnetars are the most intensely magnetized objects in the universe. Their magnetic fields are some 10,000 million times stronger than Earth’s. If a magnetar were to magically appear at half the Moon’s distance from Earth, its magnetic field would wipe the details off every credit card on Earth.

We’ve got another podcast up today at 365 Days of Astronomy, this one about magnetars. These cosmic beasts are in the news again this week, with the discovery of another one about 15,000 light-years away from us. Astronomers have known about these beasts since 1979, but didn’t really figure them out until a few years ago.

Now, they’re seeing them in various places, including this most recent one — which wasn’t even on the map until its outburst was detected in 2008.  The outburst occurred when the unstable configuration of object’s magnetic field pulled on the magnetar’s crust, allowing matter to spew outwards in sort of exotic volcanic eruption. The outbursting matter tangles with the magnetic field which itself can change its configuration, releasing more energy.

There haven’t been a lot of these strange beasts located in the galaxy, yet.  With this new one, the count comes to 15, but there will be more found as they wake up and send outbursts our way.  The tools are out there to discover them — XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL are sensitive to the soft gamma-ray emissions of magnetars

So, go on over and listen to our podcast, and if you want more info about magnetars, I’ve got a page up here.

Enjoy!