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Neutrons have a large magnetic moment. Just like the Earth's weak magnetic field channels charged particles from space to its magnetic poles, neutron stars do the same thing, with more drama. A neutron star has a huge magnetic field and also a huge gravitational field, and when these charged particles hit the surface of the neutron star, they emit X-rays at the magnetic poles, because they hit the surface at such a high speed. When the narrow beam of X-rays, off-centre from the neutron star's pole hits us, it's like a lighthouse beam. So we see a flashing X-ray beam.

2006-08-27 20:38:23 · answer #1 · answered by zee_prime 6 · 0 0

that is just how they operate.

2006-08-28 03:20:11 · answer #2 · answered by afrprince77 2 · 0 0

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