Strange new ‘cosmic object’ discovered – it’s ‘43,000 times more magnetic than our Sun’ could help unravel space mystery
The most magnetic star in the universe has just been discovered by scientists.
Dubbed HD 45166, the star is extremely dense and composed of high helium content, making it somewhat unique.
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HD 45166 is located 3,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Monoceros.
Due to its uniqueness, it has also been dubbed a “cosmic object,” according to Live Science, as it was the first of its kind to be discovered.
It is believed to be possibly the first phase of a magnetar star’s life cycle.
A magnetar star is a neutron star that is the densest known celestial object in the universe – it packs a lot of mass into a small sphere.
HD 45166 was discovered by a team of researchers and astronomers in a study published August 17 in Science.
“For the first time, a strong magnetic field has been detected in a massive helium star,” André-Nicolas Chené, an astronomer at the National Science Foundation’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory and a co-author of the study, said in a statement.
“This is a very specific scenario.
“The question arises how many magnetars come from similar systems and how many from other system types.”
After analyzing data from several different sources, the team determined that HD 45166 is extremely magnetic.
It is 43,000 times more magnetic than the sun, making it a record.
The results have helped scientists better understand the mystery of how magnetars are formed.
The researchers suspect that HD 45166 was formed when two smaller stars merged.
They also believe that in a few million years it could potentially explode into a modest supernova and turn back into a magnetar.
“We assumed that the most likely magnetar candidates would come from the most massive stars,” Chené said in the statement.
“This research shows us that stars that are much less massive can still become magnetars if the conditions are right.”
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