Of all the strange and mysterious objects seen in the universe so far (yes, we look at you ‘Oumuamua!), One of the most interesting is that class of stars neutrons called magnetars.
Astronomers consider them so rare that just about one in 10 supernovae form these brilliantly lit lanterns. Based on official observations, more than 3,000 neutron stars have already been discovered in 2020, but only 31 of these particular stars have been cataloged as magnetars, all of which show incredible magnetic fields.
Back in June we brought you news that scientists at NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, ESA’s XMM-Newton observatory, NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Array Telescope (NuSTAR), and several ground-based telescopes on one of the find these magnetic neutron stars in the Sagittarius crest, just 16,000 light-years away from Earth.
Being only 500 years old at the time of Earth, she was the youngest neutron star ever seen, and also the youngest magnetar ever discovered.
The dizzying baby dynamo, spinning 1.4 times per second, predicted an intense X-ray explosion with a series of long and short radio beats first discovered by astronauts on March 12, 2020. Listed as Swift J1818.0-1607 , the child’s neutron star. generating a rectangular magnetic field 70 times stronger than our own planet, and 1,000 times larger than a normal neutron star.
Shortly after recording an X-ray explosion, the Italian Sardinia Radio Telescope revealed that Swift J1818.0−1607 gave off sensitive emissions in radio waves. Neutron stars are known as radio pulsars that emit long-range radio behavior, and it was believed that this newborn magnet may be just one of five known magnets that hold reputation as a pulsar as well.
Now a detailed study of new ideas by NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory has supported the dual identity of the rarely seen discovery, and reveals the notion that J1818.0-1607 also the pulsar firing constant beats of light. Chandra’s data revealed a point source where the magnetar was located, an area full of diffuse X-ray emissions possibly caused by X-rays appearing off nearby dust.
Harsha Blumer of the University of West Virginia and Samar Safi-Harb of the University of Manitoba in Canada submitted their new research based on Chandra’s ideas to the online scientific site, The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
The animated image below is made up of an infrared panorama obtained from two NASA missions, the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Wide-Field In-Infrared Exploration (WISE). Chandra’s X-rays reveal the bright magnetar in purple, located near the plane of the Milky Way at a revised distance of about 21,000 light-years from Earth.
In addition to the new Chandra data, the NSF’s Karl Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) has also proven that this young magnetar emits repetitive beats as it slows down and is it features a conventional pulsar with circulating power, making it a rare celestial trace indeed.