Fact Sheet
Lighting Up the Galaxy
A "starquake" on the surface of a dead star known as SGR 1806-20 sends an enormous blast of gamma-rays into the Milky Way galaxy in this artist's concept. The blast was detected on Earth in December, and was the brightest astronomical phenomenon ever seen outside our own solar system. The star was a "magnetar" -- the crushed corpse of a once-mighty star that now generates an extremely powerful magnetic field. The magnetic field fractured the star's ultradense iron crust, releasing an enormous amount of energy into space. [Credit: NASA]
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