Magnetar no mystery now

[alokmohan]

ESA's XMM-Newton, has provided new insight into puzzling celestial objects known as magnetars. Thanks to the orbiting X-ray observatory, astronomers have traced powerful explosions to a region just beneath a magnetar's surface. <br /><br />Magnetars are small neutron stars that occasionally suffer extraordinarily powerful outbursts which shine X-rays across the galaxy. <br /><br />In 2003, astronomers saw a neutron star brighten to around 100 times its usual faint luminosity. This outburst allowed them to discover XTE J1810-197. Detecting pulsations from the source helped classify it as the first transient anomalous X-ray pulsar (AXP). The massive outburst moved it to the rank of magnetar. <br /><br />Magnetars are perplexing objects. Each one is the highly magnetic core of a star that was once at least eight times more massive than the Sun. When it exploded as a supernova, the core was compressed into a highly compact object, a neutron star, roughly fifteen kilometres in diameter, but containing about as much mass as the Sun. <br /><br />Some of these neutron stars possess the mosthttp://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.nl.html?pid=23624 <br />