What is the most magnetic object in the universe?
Its magnetic field could erase every credit card on Earth from halfway across the galaxy.
The answer
Magnetars are a type of neutron star with magnetic fields about a quadrillion (10¹⁵) times stronger than Earth's. These are the most powerfully magnetic objects known to exist. A magnetar's field is so intense that it distorts atomic electron clouds into needle shapes and can be lethal at a distance of 1,000 kilometers. In 2004, a magnetar called SGR 1806-20 released a gamma-ray flare so powerful that it briefly ionized Earth's upper atmosphere from 50,000 light-years away. Only about 30 magnetars have been identified in our galaxy.
Source: NASA
- magnetars
- neutron stars
- magnetic fields
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