[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Earlier article about these magnetars:

Biggest stars produce strongest magnets

[King Prout]

DD - ping to 12

EATB, ya might be so kind as to add Dawsonville_Doc to your astrophysics pinglist?

[zeugma]

From the article you linked: Another clue to the pulsar/magnetar difference may lie in how fast neutron stars are spinning when they form. Gaensler and his team suggest that heavy stars will form neutron stars spinning at up to 500-1000 times per second. Such rapid rotation should power a dynamo and generate superstrong magnetic fields. 'Normal' neutron stars are born spinning at only 50-100 times per second, preventing the dynamo from working and leaving them with a magnetic field 1000 times weaker, says Gaensler.

HA! I knew there was something weird about that rotation rate!. Thanks for the link Ernest.

[SunkenCiv]

thanks E for the ping.