Extraordinary And The Youngest Known Magnetar Observed By Chandra Observatory

This image contains an exceptional magnetar, a type of neutron star with very powerful magnetic fields. Astronomers have found evidence that this object may be the youngest known magnetar (about 500 years old in Earth’s timeframe). It is also the fastest rotating one yet discovered (spinning about 1.4 times per second). This image shows the magnetar in X-rays from Chandra (purple) at the center of the image in combination with Spitzer and WISE infrared data showing the wider field of view. Magnetars form when a massive star runs out of nuclear fuel and its core collapses onto itself. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of West Virginia/H. Blumer; Infrared (Spitzer and Wise): NASA/JPLCalTech/Spitzer

In 2020, astronomers added a new member to an exclusive family of exotic objects with the discovery of a magnetar. New observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory help support the idea that it is also a pulsar, meaning it emits regular pulses of light.

Magnetars are a type of neutron star, an incredibly dense object mainly made up of tightly packed neutron, which forms from the collapsed core of a massive star during a supernova.

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