Magnetar
Westerlund 1
A neutron star with the strongest magnetic field known, given to violent outbursts.
Measured
- Distance
- about 12,720 light-years
How far, from the Sun
About 12,700 light-years. To cross it:
- Light12,700 years
- Voyager 1's speed226 million years
- Driving at 100 km/h137 billion years
Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.
Facts
- turns once every 11 seconds
- seen to give off bursts, outbursts (a transient magnetar)
- About 13,000 light-years away (± 2,300).
Where this comes from
- Pulsar distances: Deller et al. 2019, ApJ 875, 100 (PSRπ, VLBA parallaxes). Magnetars: Olausen & Kaspi 2014, ApJS 212, 6, via the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg (DOI 10.26093/cds/vizier).
Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.