Cheap Astronomy - Dear CA Ep. 101: More Stars

More star stuff. – Do other stars have sunspot activity cycles like the Sun does? Yes, although we say starspots rather than sun spots, when referring to any star other than the Sun. The Sun has an approximately 11 year cycle defined by the number of observable sunspots – which moves from a minimum number to a maximum number over 11 years, and then moves back to a minimum number over another 11 years – hence some people prefer to say it’s actually a 22 year cycle. – So why are magnetars magnetic? So, keen listeners will recall that a magnetar is a type of neutron star, all of which do have strong magnetic fields, but magnetars have crazy strong magnetic fields, sufficient to spaghettify sub-atomic particles and polarize a vacuum if you can believe it – not to mention understand it.   We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to support editing, hosting, and production costs.  Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate as much as you can! Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to them too!  Every bit helps! Thank you! ------------------------------------ Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and other awesomeness! http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through your donations.  Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!) ------------------------------------ The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at [email protected].