Chandra Release - October 14, 2010

Visual Description: SGR 0418+5729

The illustration of the neutron star SGR 0418+5729 features a bright orange star in the center with black lines looping around it, representing the neutron star's intense magnetic field. The orange color of the neutron star is reminiscent of a hot, glowing ember with a texture of crackled and speckled patches only on the right side.  The left side shows down to the star's core with more black lines stretching across the central area. Observations from several telescopes, including NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, have revealed that a slowly rotating neutron star with a comparatively very weak surface magnetic field is giving off bursts o f X-rays and gamma rays. This discovery from SGR 0418+5729 may indicate the presence of an internal magnetic field much more intense than the surface magnetic field, with implications for how the most powerful magnets in the cosmos evolve.