Magnetar

SGR-1806 er en ultra-magnetisk neutronstjerne - også kaldet en magnetar. SGR-1806 er omkring 50.000 lysår fra jorden i stjernebilledet Skytten.

Hvis en magnetar (en slags "SGR", Soft gamma repeater eller "AXP", Anomalous X-ray Pulsar) eksisterer, formodes den at være en speciel type af neutronstjerne som har et stærkt magnetfelt. Teorien omkring disse objekter blev formuleret af Robert Duncan og Christopher Thompson.

Det formodes at hver tiende supernovaeksplosion resulterer i en magnetar i stedet for de mere almindelige neutronstjerner eller pulsarer.

Eksterne henvisninger

• Wikimedia Commons har flere filer relateret til Magnetar

• Powerful ancient explosions explain new class of supernovae. PHYS ORG
• NASA: "Magnetar" discovery solves 19-year-old mystery Citat: "...suggested a magnetic field strength of about 800 trillion Gauss...").
• Robert C. Duncan, University of Texas at Austin: 'Magnetars', Soft Gamma Repeaters & Very Strong Magnetic Fields
• NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS): Duncan & Thompson, Ap.J. 392, L9) 1992
• NASA ADS, 1999: Discovery of a Magnetar Associated with the Soft Gamma Repeater SGR 1900+14
• Physics Web: January 2003: Strongest magnet in the cosmos Citat: "...This discovery represents a new frontier in neutron-star astrophysics. Since magnetars slow down rapidly, only a handful of them will be active and observable at any one time..."
• 2004-01-09, ScienceDaily: Magnetars, The Most Magnetic Stars Known, More Common Than Previously Thought Citat: "...Magnetars represent a new way for a star to shine, which makes this a fascinating field..."