Importance Score: 72 / 100 🔴
Researchers at NASA are observing a highly potent star, a magnetar, that would obliterate any human who ventured within 600 miles. The origin of this celestial object remains a puzzle. This specific neutron star, designated SGR 0501+4516, is exceptionally rare; it’s estimated that only about 30 exist within the Milky Way galaxy, which contains approximately 100 billion stars. Understanding the formation of these incredible objects is crucial for unlocking the secrets of fast radio bursts and extreme cosmic events.
Magnetar SGR 0501+4516: A Cosmic Powerhouse
According to NASA, SGR 0501+4516 possesses immense capabilities, sporting a magnetic sphere “roughly a trillion times more potent than Earth’s magnetosphere.” Were it to pass our planet at half the Moon’s distance, every credit card worldwide would be rendered useless.
“Should a person approach within 600 miles, this magnetar would function as a death-ray of science fiction lore, tearing apart every atom in their body,” as stated in a NASA announcement.
The Formation of Magnetars: Zombie Stars
Magnetars are believed to originate from stars that undergo a supernova, subsequently imploding into an extremely concentrated neutron star. They are sometimes known as ‘zombie stars’.
Ashley Chrimes, the primary writer of the research paper featured in the April 15 edition of Astronomy & Astrophysics, stated: “Magnetars are neutron stars, namely the remains of expired stars, consisting entirely of neutrons. Their outstanding magnetic fields are what distinguishes them.”
A Decade-Long Mystery
The Hubble Space Telescope originally discovered the object in 2008. Initially, it looked like it resulted from a nearby supernova. But a ten-year study of its trajectory indicated that this assumption was wrong. This means it’s either older than its projected age of 20,000 years, or it formed in a different way.
Hubble’s Precision Measurement of Stellar Movement
“All of the motion we are detecting is smaller than one picture element on a Hubble image,” explained co-researcher Joe Lyman from the University of Warwick. “Being able to reliably execute those analyses reflects well on the long-term consistency of Hubble.”
Accretion-Induced Collapse: An Alternative Formation Theory
Scientists suggest SGR 0501+4516 may have been created through a process known as accretion-induced collapse. This happens when a white dwarf – a dead star residue from a Sun-like star – draws gas from a nearby star, growing so big that it collapses and explodes.
- Nuclear Reactions: It was theorized that accretion could spark nuclear explosions within the white dwarf leading to its destruction.
- Neutron Star Creation: Under specific conditions, the white dwarf might instead collapse into a neutron star.
Andrew Levan from Radboud University in the Netherlands and the University of Warwick noted, “Typically, this circumstance results in nuclear reactions igniting, and the white dwarf bursting, ending everything. “However, it has been suggested that the white dwarf could instead collapse into a neutron star under particular circumstances. We suspect that SGR 0501 was created in this manner.”
Magnetars and Fast Radio Bursts
NASA suggests that the accretion-induced collapse creation of magnetars like SGR 0501+4516 may shed light on the enigma of fast radio bursts sometimes detected from deep space.
Nanda Rea from the Institute of Space Sciences located in Barcelona, states: “Magnetar birth rates in conjunction with their formation plans remain amongst the utmost problems for high-energy astrophysics. These problems bear significance to some of the most potent transient occurrences occurring throughout the universe, for instance, gamma-ray bursts, super-luminous supernovae and fast radio bursts.”