Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey,
Speaker 1: brain Stuff learned Boba bam here. Our knowledge of the
Speaker 1: universe is always expanding, much like the universe itself. This
Speaker 1: means that we occasionally discover something new or come up
Speaker 1: with a new model to explain data that we didn't
Speaker 1: quite understand before. One such astronomical phenomena is the magnetar
Speaker 1: type of powerful neutron star, the existence of which was
Speaker 1: first proposed in that year astronomers suggested that certain blasts
Speaker 1: of gamma and X ray radiation and radio pulses might
Speaker 1: be explained by stars with exceptionally powerful magnetic fields. Since then,
Speaker 1: astronomers have identified dozens of such magnetars in and around
Speaker 1: the Milky Way. If you're curious about what a magnetar is,
Speaker 1: how they come to exist in the galaxy, and why
Speaker 1: astronomers consider them among the scariest objects in the universe,
Speaker 1: this episode is for you. First, let's talk about how
Speaker 1: magnetars are born. The stars go through a life cycle,
Speaker 1: like everything else in the universe. What happens to a
Speaker 1: star at the end of its life depends on the
Speaker 1: mass of the star. For example, our sun is expected
Speaker 1: to grow into a red giant, then become a planetary nebula,
Speaker 1: then turn into a white dwarf star. More massive stars
Speaker 1: can explode into supergiants, erupt into supernova, and then become
Speaker 1: either a neutron star or a black hole. Magnetars are
Speaker 1: the remnants of those massive stars which have exploded in
Speaker 1: a supernova and collapsed into a neutron star. While astronomers
Speaker 1: don't yet know what causes a supernova to result in
Speaker 1: a magnetar instead of a normal neutron star or pulsar,
Speaker 1: some hypothesize that it has to do with the original
Speaker 1: stars rotational speed. In any case, magnetars are neutron stars
Speaker 1: with magnetic fields of approximately tend to the power of
Speaker 1: thirteen to tend to the power of fifteen gals, which
Speaker 1: is a measure of magnetic density. This is a scale
Speaker 1: of magnetic power that's hard to conceive, but let's just
Speaker 1: say that magnetars are considered to be the most powerful
Speaker 1: magnetic objects in the known universe. Scientists have confirmed the
Speaker 1: presence of twenty three known magnetars, and another six are
Speaker 1: waiting additional data to confirm if they meet the criteria
Speaker 1: to be considered. Many of these are located in the
Speaker 1: Milky Way, but don't worry, none are close to Earth.
Speaker 1: The nearest is about nine thousand light years away in
Speaker 1: the constellation Karina, another is some twenty thousand light years
Speaker 1: away in Aquila, and yet another is about fifty thousand
Speaker 1: light years away in Sagittarius. These distances are obviously far
Speaker 1: beyond anywhere we've explored in our galaxy or even sent
Speaker 1: probes like Voyager one or two to visit. While the
Speaker 1: stellar life cycle that leads to a magnetar can take
Speaker 1: millions or billions of years, magnetars themselves have a relatively
Speaker 1: short cosmic life. The magnetic field of a magnetar begins
Speaker 1: to decay after roughly ten thousand years. This means that
Speaker 1: the magnetars that we see in our galaxy today are
Speaker 1: just a few of the many magnetars that have ever existed.
Speaker 1: The scientists estimate that there may be as many thirty
Speaker 1: million inactive magnetars in the Milky Way alone. Okay, but
Speaker 1: how do magnetars compare with the power of black holes?
Speaker 1: Black holes are also certainly not the kind of thing
Speaker 1: would want close to Earth before the article. This episode
Speaker 1: is based on How's to works book by email with
Speaker 1: Phil Plate, the astronomer who shares his insights, and the
Speaker 1: Moniker Bad astronomer. He explained that it depends on what
Speaker 1: force you're measuring. Quote, the gravity from the black hole
Speaker 1: will always be stronger because the lowest mass black hole
Speaker 1: is always more massive than the most massive neutron star,
Speaker 1: but the magnetism of the magnetar will be stronger. In general,
Speaker 1: Luckily will never have to worry about encountering a black
Speaker 1: hole or magnetar close to Earth, but both could theoretically
Speaker 1: impact us here on Earth even from far away. Plate said,
Speaker 1: if a stellar mass black hole eats something, it could
Speaker 1: blast out radiation, but even then I doubt it would
Speaker 1: be as strongly felt from halfway across the galaxy as
Speaker 1: the two thousand four make guitar event. That event was
Speaker 1: a massive gamma and X ray blast from the aforementioned
Speaker 1: magnetard that's fifty thousand light years away in Sagittarius. The
Speaker 1: blast passed over Earth in two thousand four and caused
Speaker 1: disruptions to satellite technology, among other issues. Okay, so magnatars
Speaker 1: are indeed scary, but how present is the threat if
Speaker 1: at all? A Plate said, I am worried about magnetars
Speaker 1: given what happened in two thousand four, the one responsible
Speaker 1: is exceptionally powerful. I don't think that any that strong
Speaker 1: are closer to Earth, but the impact on Earth gets
Speaker 1: stronger with the inverse of the distance squared. If one
Speaker 1: were one fifth that distance, the impact would be twenty
Speaker 1: five times stronger. Not only what a strong magnetar pulse
Speaker 1: effect are electronics and other technology, but one with enough
Speaker 1: length would affect our physiology, including the bioelectricity in our
Speaker 1: bodies and between the atoms that make up everything we know.
Speaker 1: Let's just say we should all be glad, but the
Speaker 1: nearest known magnentar is nine thousand light years away. Today's
Speaker 1: episode is based on the article why our mag guitar
Speaker 1: is so scary on how stuff works dot Com, written
Speaker 1: by Valerie steam App. Brain Stuff is a production of
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com,
Speaker 1: and it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my
Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.