Magnetars are capable of tearing apart anything that gets too close to their powerful magnetic fields. (Image credit: Getty Images)
Astronomers have identified an incredibly powerful “zombie star” hurtling through the Milky Way at more than 110,000 mph (177,000 km/h). This stellar core, which has a magnetic field capable of ripping humans into atoms, also has a mysterious origin story that could change our understanding of such stellar remnants.
The astonishing object, named SGR 0501+4516, is a magnetar, a neutron star with a strong magnetic field. Neutron stars are the remains of dead stars that have collapsed into compressed shells the size of small planets, while retaining a mass equivalent to that of stars like the Sun. This makes neutron stars the densest known cosmic objects beyond the hypothetical singularities of black holes.
The incredibly compact object, one of only 30 known magnetars in the Milky Way, was first detected in 2008 when it was about 15,000 light-years from Earth. But in a new study published April 15 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, scientists analyzed follow-up observations of SGR 0501+4516 from the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Space Agency’s Gaia spacecraft and found that the stellar remnant is moving through our galaxy significantly faster than expected.
Magnetars are among the most magnetic objects in the universe, and SGR 0501+4516 is no exception. Experts estimate that the object's magnetic field is about 100 trillion times stronger than Earth's protective shield.
If SGR 0501+4516 “passes Earth at a distance half the distance of the Moon, its powerful [magnetic] field would destroy all credit cards on our planet,” NASA officials said in a statement. “If a person were to approach within 600 miles, the magnetar would become the proverbial sci-fi death ray, shredding every atom in the body.” However, the undead star is not predicted to come anywhere near our solar system.
Magnetars are among the most magnetic objects in the Universe.
The discovery challenges our understanding of how magnetars form. Until now, researchers believed that these objects were created by the explosions of dying stars, which were blown apart before being transformed into neutron stars. This is what scientists believe happened to SGR 0501+4516, which was initially spotted near the supernova remnant HB9. However, the new study found that the magnetar is moving too fast and in the wrong direction to have formed at that particular cosmic accident site.
“Tracking the magnetar's trajectory back thousands of years has shown that it is not
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