What is a Starquake?

By on Oct 2, 2021 in Astrophysical | 0 comments

Scientists have seen all sorts of monsters in the universe and starquakes are phenomena worth mentioning. What is a starquake? Well, from what we know so far, a starquake happens on magnetars which is a type of neutron star that has the strongest magnetic fields in the universe. Magnetars also are the densest stars in the universe with the strongest crust. It may be weird to think of a star with a “crust” because they’re essentially giant balls of gas and plasma. However, that’s just how dense they are. These things are small too — about the size of a town — and when the crust is twisted, cracked slightly, or adjusted in any way you get a starquake! Actually, it’s the same principles on how earthquakes happen — except we’re talking about a monster that could easily wipe out a solar system. Neutron star size and scale of San Francisco. Credit: NASA...