NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Tracks a Neutron Star With Mysterious Origin

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope spotted a rogue magnetar, dubbed SGR 0501+4516, traversing our galaxy for a significantly long time. As per claims by scientists, it was first discovered in the year 2008 by NASA's Swift Observatory as intense flashes of gamma rays in the outer area of the Milky Way. The lingering magnetar strongly indicates that not all the magnetars in the Milky Way Galaxy have originated from supernovae, claimed the researchers. The unusual nature of this magnetar could provide critical insights into the events of fast radio bursts.

Discovery of Magnetar

Magnetars are purely made of neutrons, the dead remains of stars. Their strong magnetic field makes them unique. Ashley Chrimes, lead author of the study in Astrophysics published on April 15, said that a magnetar has more than a trillion times higher magnetic field than Earth's.

This magnetic influence is so strong that it can even wipe out credit cards if it were to come as close as the halfway point between the Moon and the Earth. If a human reaches even 600 miles near a magnetar, it can rip apart the atoms of their body, too. It was initially presumed to have originated from the remnants of supernovae called HB9, which was spotted nearby its original location. However, the strange nature of magnetar was identified using Hubble's sensitive instruments, together with Gaia spacecraft from ESA raised questions about its origins.

Tracking the Magnetar's Movement

Long-term observations with the help of Hubble led to the measurement of subtle magnetic currents across the sky. Its movement indicated it had not originated from the remnants of a supernova, thus suggesting it had a different origin. With the continuous tracking of its trajectory for almost a thousand years in the past, scientists found that there are no other supernova remnants or star clusters connected to this wandering Magnetar.

Comprehending Fast Radio Bursts

This magnetar is the best entity formed by the accretion-induced collapse, NASA explained. This discovery could be of significance in explaining the fast radio bursts originating from the stellar populations, which are very ancient. The research team has further planned Hubble observations to study the origin of Magnetars, comprehending how these extreme magnetic objects originate.