by The record-breaking find of a star 43,000 times more magnetic than the sun could help unravel the mystery of how magnetars form.
Scientists just uncovered the most magnetic star in the universe.
The star, known as HD 45166, has a unique, helium-rich spectral signature that hints at an unusual origin.
And in addition to setting records, it might represent the first stage in the lifecycle of a magnetar — a strange type of neutron star.
Neutron stars are the densest known celestial objects in the universe, packing a sun's worth of mass into a ball no wider than a city.
Their highly magnetic versions — known as magnetars — have some of the strongest known magnetic fields in the universe.
Neutron stars and magnetars form in the wake of massive supernova explosions, when the leftover material from a dead star condenses back into an extremely dense, hot object.
Source
Scientists just uncovered the most magnetic star in the universe.
The star, known as HD 45166, has a unique, helium-rich spectral signature that hints at an unusual origin.
And in addition to setting records, it might represent the first stage in the lifecycle of a magnetar — a strange type of neutron star.
Neutron stars are the densest known celestial objects in the universe, packing a sun's worth of mass into a ball no wider than a city.
Their highly magnetic versions — known as magnetars — have some of the strongest known magnetic fields in the universe.
Neutron stars and magnetars form in the wake of massive supernova explosions, when the leftover material from a dead star condenses back into an extremely dense, hot object.
Source
