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Nasa is tracking a potentially devastating “zombie star” as it races through our galaxy at more than 177,000 km/h (110,000 mph).
The immensely dense object is one of 30 known magnetars in the Milky Way, which are the dead remnants of stars composed entirely of neutrons.
Measuring just 20 kilometres across, Magnetar SGR 0501+4516 holds more mass than the Sun and has a magnetic field that is about a trillion times more powerful than Earth’s magnetosphere.
The magnetar was discovered by researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope, with Nasa describing the “runaway” object as having “comic-book-hero superpowers”.
In a blog post detailing the finding, Nasa’s Hubble Mission team noted that the magnetar originated from an unknown part of the universe, but may offer insights into some of its biggest mysteries.
“If a human got within 600 miles, the magnetar would become a proverbial sci-fi death-ray, ripping apart every atom inside the body,” the team wrote.
“This runaway magnetar is the likeliest candidate in our Milky Way galaxy for a magnetar that was not born in a supernova explosion as initially predicted. It is so strange it might even offer clues to the mechanism behind events known as fast radio bursts.”
Astronomers previously thought that Magnetar SGR 0501+4516 was born from a core-collapse of a neighbouring supernova, however new observations have cast doubt on its birthplace.
The revelation means the magnetar must be either far older than its reported 20,000-year age, or it formed through the merger of two neuron stars.
“Magnetars are neutron stars – the dead remnants of stars – composed entirely of neutrons,” said Ashley Chrimes, who led the team who made the discovery. “What makes magnetars unique is their extreme magnetic fields, billions of times stronger than the strongest magnets we have on Earth.”
Nanda Rea of the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain, added: “Magnetar birth rates and formation scenarios are among the most pressing questions in high-energy astrophysics, with implications for many of the universe’s most powerful transient events, such as gamma-ray bursts, superluminous supernovae, and fast radio bursts.”
The research team will continue to observe the magnetar in an effort to better understand its path through the Milky Way and its origins.
English (US) ·