Magnetar birth confirmed inside colossal supernova
TL;DR
Astronomers have confirmed the births of a magnetar—a highly magnetized, rapidly spinning neutron star—within a rapidly bright supernova, SN 2024afav. Analysis of the 200‑day light curve revealed four chirps caused by a wobbling accretion disk around the newborn magnetar, with general relativity’s frame‑dragging explaining the timing. The magnetar spins about 238 times per second and possesses a magnetic field hundreds of trillions of times stronger than Earth's, providing definitive evidence for the magnetar–superluminous supernova connection.
- Astronomers witness colossal supernova explosion create one of the most magnetic stars in the universe for the first time Space
- Astronomers capture birth of a magnetar, confirming link to some of universe’s brightest exploding stars University of California, Berkeley
- Astrophysicists figure out what caused a super-bright supernova KSL.com
- Lense–Thirring precessing magnetar engine drives a superluminous supernova Nature
- Astronomers witness magnetar birth for first time The Times
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