This one, however (with green lines depicting magnetic waves, at right)... will be a puzzle, for just a while longer: why did this magnetar rapidly slow its rotation, emit a wildly-high energy fast radio burst, and then immediately reaccelerate? Its surface revolves at about 7,000 miles an hour, making a complete rotation about every three seconds.
Here's the Valentine's mystery -- from NASA, tonight:
. . .[M]agnetars (which are a type of neutron star) are so dense that a teaspoon of their material would weigh about a billion tons on Earth. Such a high density also means a strong gravitational pull: A marshmallow falling onto a typical neutron star would impact with the force of an early atomic bomb.
The strong gravity means the surface of a magnetar is a volatile place, regularly releasing bursts of X-rays and higher-energy light. Before the fast radio burst that occurred in 2022, the magnetar started releasing eruptions of X-rays and gamma rays (even more energetic wavelengths of light). . . .
[T]he exterior of a magnetar is solid, and the high density crushes the interior into a state called a superfluid. Occasionally, the two can get out of sync, like water sloshing around inside a spinning fishbowl. When this happens, the fluid can deliver energy to the crust. The paper authors think this is likely what caused both glitches that bookended the fast radio burst. . . .
Anyone wish to hazard a guess? Anyone? Bueller? Smile. . . G'night.
नमस्ते
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