Mind = Blown o_O
Would you like to learn a random fact?
Do you know what a Magnetar is? I didn't either.
From wiki:
"A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field, the decay of which powers the emission of copious amounts of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays.
Little is known about the physical structure of magnetars because none are sufficiently close to Earth to facilitate study. Magnetars are around 20 kilometres (12 mi) in diameter but have a greater mass than the Sun. The density of a magnetar is such that a thimbleful (A THIMBLEFUL) of its substance, sometimes referred to as neutronium, would have a mass of over 100 million tons.!!!! Magnetars also rotate rapidly, with most magnetars completing a rotation once every one to ten seconds. The active life of a magnetar is short. Their strong magnetic fields decay after about 10,000 years, after which activity and strong X-ray emission cease. Given the number of magnetars observable today, one estimate puts the number of inactive magnetars in the Milky Way at 30 million or more.
Quakes triggered on the surface of the magnetar cause great volatility in the star and the magnetic field which encompasses it, often leading to extremely powerful gamma ray flare emissions which have been recorded on Earth in 1979, 1998, and 2004."
The one that flared in 2004 was over 50,000 light years away and it's explosion briefly caused our ionosphere to expand. The nearest discovered one to us is, I think, 9 light years away. Should we find one within 3 light years of us, and it does what the one in 2004 did, we cease to exist.
The universe is staggering.
Do you know what a Magnetar is? I didn't either.
From wiki:
"A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field, the decay of which powers the emission of copious amounts of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays.
Little is known about the physical structure of magnetars because none are sufficiently close to Earth to facilitate study. Magnetars are around 20 kilometres (12 mi) in diameter but have a greater mass than the Sun. The density of a magnetar is such that a thimbleful (A THIMBLEFUL) of its substance, sometimes referred to as neutronium, would have a mass of over 100 million tons.!!!! Magnetars also rotate rapidly, with most magnetars completing a rotation once every one to ten seconds. The active life of a magnetar is short. Their strong magnetic fields decay after about 10,000 years, after which activity and strong X-ray emission cease. Given the number of magnetars observable today, one estimate puts the number of inactive magnetars in the Milky Way at 30 million or more.
Quakes triggered on the surface of the magnetar cause great volatility in the star and the magnetic field which encompasses it, often leading to extremely powerful gamma ray flare emissions which have been recorded on Earth in 1979, 1998, and 2004."
The one that flared in 2004 was over 50,000 light years away and it's explosion briefly caused our ionosphere to expand. The nearest discovered one to us is, I think, 9 light years away. Should we find one within 3 light years of us, and it does what the one in 2004 did, we cease to exist.
The universe is staggering.