Magnetars : Most magnetic objects in the universe

What are Magnetars and what makes them one of the most dangerous objects in the universe?

Image by Nidhi Yashwanth -Pixabay

Let's just start off by agreeing that our universe is not what it looks like. Stars, galaxies, galaxy clusters, nebulae, black holes, quasars,.. all floating beautifully in midst of the space-time void. Just like each entity is known for it's thing, like for black holes, it's its strong gravity, while nebulae is known as the birth place of stars. For quasars, it's the strong and powerful bursts of radiation and light that they give out. Alright but what about our topic today? A magnetar? Let's find out.

What is a magnetar?

A magnetar is a type of neutron star, which, just like its name indicates, has an extraordinarily powerful magnetic field around it. To give you an idea on how powerful its magnetic field actually is, consider this comparison: The average magnetic field of our Earth is considered as 0.5 to 1 Gauss, whereas that of the Sun (which is also a star) is about 10 Gauss. The magnetic field used in in an MRI scanner is about 30,000 Gauss. Now, for the record, attempts to create magnetic fields which is more than a million (10^6) Gauss have never been successful and is beyond our present technology. Here's the thing, the magnetic field associated with a magnetar is about one thousand trillion Gauss (approx. 10^15 times)!!! 

However, scientists still haven't figured out how some neutron stars become magnetars, but there are some speculations on how its magnetic field rises exponentially and one such effect is the Dynamo Mechanism, which is said to occur when it's magnetic field, temperature and spin are all in the correct ranges, right after the former massive star explodes into a supernova and settles into a newly formed neutron star. Other reasons for the origin of a magnetar is that the exploded star's magnetic field got stronger as the newly formed neutron star got compressed and dense by it's own inward gravitational pull. 

Although magnetars have relatively shorter active span, they emit the most powerful radio bursts like X-Rays and  Gamma rays. One main reason for such powerful emissions is that magnetars experience 'star quakes', which results in distortions in its surface. And hence, due to this distortions, their magnetic field gets altered or disrupted and results in the sudden emission of X-ray and gamma ray outbursts while it resets itself into a stable state.

A magnetar's magnetic field is so powerful and fatal that a few thousand kilo meters anywhere near the magnetar could melt a whole person!! Its magnetic field strength can basically rip up all the bio-chemical processes involved with the human body, like the electrical impulses in the nervous system and can basically squeeze atoms into a needle shape in the direction of the magnetic field lines. In fact, there are some amount of atoms on the surface of such neutron stars and they're all aligned in this squeezed manner. Fortunately, the magnetar closest to earth is about 9 thousand light years away, so we're safe for now.   

Neutron stars including magnetars remain one of the biggest mysteries in the deep space, only because their characteristics and physics includes quantum mechanics, general relativity, electricity and magnetism and plasma state, which makes the calculation a hell lot complicated. However, with the help of advanced radio telescopes and detectors world-wide, we can learn more from their emissions and outbursts.