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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsA magnetar is a type of neutron star, not a separate kind of object. The distinction is its exceptionally powerful magnetic field, which can drive bursts and heightened X-ray activity. Neutron star is the broader category; magnetar describes one especially magnetic member of it.
How are magnetars and neutron stars different?
A neutron star is the compact remnant left when the core of a massive star collapses. A magnetar is a neutron star distinguished by an exceptionally powerful magnetic field. In other words, all magnetars are neutron stars, but not all neutron stars are magnetars.
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| Feature | Neutron star | Magnetar |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | The broad class of compact stellar remnants formed from collapsed stellar cores. | A member of the neutron-star class. NASA’s overview |
| Magnetic field | Can be strong, with strength varying from object to object. | Exceptionally strong; unusual examples mean there is no single value that describes every magnetar. NASA, “Chandra Studies Extraordinary Magnetar,” January 8, 2021; NASA, “A Hidden Population of Exotic Neutron Stars,” 2013 |
| Observed behavior | Some are seen as pulsars when rotating beams of emission sweep across Earth’s line of sight. | Can produce bursts and heightened high-energy emission; some also show pulsar-like pulses. NASA, NICER magnetar account, 2022 |
| Energy associated with outbursts | Depends on the object’s behavior and class. | Magnetic energy is central to NASA’s explanation of magnetar outbursts. NASA, NICER magnetar account, 2022 |
How powerful is a magnetar’s magnetic field?
NASA’s 2021 comparison gives an illustrative scale: about 1 gauss for Earth’s magnetic field, about 100 gauss for a common refrigerator magnet, and about a million billion gauss for a magnetar. These figures are context, not a universal measurement for every magnetar. NASA describes magnetars as having the strongest known magnetic fields.
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Why do magnetars burst and emit X-rays?
A magnetar’s magnetic field stores energy. NASA describes magnetic disturbances and stress on the star’s crust as relevant to outbursts and changes in X-ray emission. As astrophysicist Sam Lander explained in NASA’s 2022 NICER account, “The crust of a neutron star is immensely strong, but a magnetar’s intense magnetic field can strain it beyond its limits.” This is an explanatory account of the activity, not a claim that every burst follows one completely settled sequence.
Observations can reveal changes in detail over time. NASA reported that NICER tracked evolving hot spots on a magnetar, including changes in its X-ray pulse shape. The science lead for NICER, Zaven Arzoumanian, noted that earlier observations were widely separated snapshots, making it difficult to follow how such changes developed.
Is a magnetar also a pulsar?
Sometimes. “Pulsar” describes observable behavior: a rotating neutron star sends beams of emission through space, and a pulse is detected when a beam sweeps across our line of sight. “Magnetar” describes a neutron star by its magnetic character. The labels answer different questions, so they can overlap rather than compete.
NASA observations of J1818.0-1607 supported the interpretation that it was also a pulsar. Another example is SGR 1830-0645: after its 2020 outburst, NASA reported a rotation period of 10.4 seconds in 2022. That figure belongs to that particular object, not magnetars generally.
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In an August 7, 2026 account, NASA reported that IXPE observed the magnetar 1E 1547-5408 for more than 140 hours during March and April 2025. The campaign also involved NICER and the Parkes radio telescope. The observation illustrates how magnetars are studied through coordinated space- and ground-based instruments; it is not a general measurement of every magnetar.
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