Artist’s impression of of the
magnetic field at a specific spot on the surface of a magnetar. Credit: ESA/ATG Medialab
A team of astronomers including two researchers from UCL's Mullard Space Science Laboratory has made the first ever measurement of the magnetic field at a specific spot on the surface of a magnetar. Magnetars are a type of neutron star, the dense and compact core of a giant star which has blasted away its outer layers in a supernova explosion. Magnetars have among the strongest magnetic fields in the Universe. Until now, only their large scale magnetic field had been measured. However, using a new technique and observations of a magnetar in X-rays, the astronomers have now revealed a strong, localised surface magnetic field on one. Magnetars are very puzzling neutron stars. Astronomers discovered them through their unusual behaviour when observed in X-ray wavelengths, including sudden outbursts of radiation and occasional giant flares.
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