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Composition
Magnetars are extremely dense and are mostly comprised of free neutrons, or neutrons that are not bound to protons in atomic nuclei as is the case in normal conditions. This material is also called neutron-degenerate matter. One teaspoon of it weighs about 1,000 billion kilograms, or approximately the combined weight of every human being alive.
Structure and Size
Little is known about the exact physical structure of a magnetar because they are extremely rare and scientists have not been able to study much about them. It is known that most magnetars have a diameter of about 12 miles and can weigh twice as much as the Sun. They rotate very quickly. One full rotation takes between 1 and 10 seconds.
Magnetic Field
Magnetic fields are commonly measured in units called Teslas. The magnetic field of a magnetar can be as strong as 10 gigatesla, or 10^10 teslas. For comparison, this is hundreds of millions of times stronger than the strongest man-made magnetic field. Even at a distance of 1,000 kilometers, the magnetic field of a magnetar would be lethal.
Origins and Life Cycle
Magnetars are formed by the supernovae of stars much larger than the sun -- as much as 30 or 40 times more massive. After the outward explosion of a supernovae, much of the matter of the star collapses back in on itself to form an incredibly dense body called a neutron star. All neutron stars have strong magnetic fields; magnetars are those which have fields in the gigatesla range. They only remain active for around 10,000 years, after which their magnetic field weakens rapidly.