The birth of a magnetar is witnessed for the first time

Image via ESO

doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10151-0
Credibility: 989
#Magnetar

Astronomers have, for the first time, directly observed the birth of a magnetar during a colossal supernova explosion

This occurred with the supernova called SN 2024afav, detected in December 2024, when a star about 25 times more massive than the Sun reached the end of its life, approximately one billion light-years from Earth.

This explosion was an example of a superluminous supernova, meaning it was at least ten times brighter than the common supernovae of large stars.

A global network of 27 telescopes at the Las Cumbres Observatory monitored the event for more than 200 days, recording the variation in brightness in detail.

What particularly intrigued scientists were some strange and peculiar ripples in the supernova’s light curve-a kind of “chirp” that accelerated over time.

After months of analysis, including calculations based on Einstein’s theory of general relativity, the team concluded that these characteristics could only be explained by the presence of a newly formed magnetar at the center of the explosion.

A magnetar is a special type of neutron star: a superdense sphere, roughly the size of a large city, that rotates extremely rapidly and possesses one of the most intense magnetic fields known in the universe-hundreds or even thousands of times stronger than that of a typical neutron star.

This powerful magnetic field acts as a kind of cosmic battery, accelerating charged particles and injecting enormous energy into the material ejected by the supernova, making the brightness much more intense and long-lasting.

This discovery confirms an idea that astronomers have debated for years: many of these superluminous events are driven precisely by newly formed magnetars.

What once seemed almost like a magical theoretical explanation has now gained direct and solid evidence, thanks to the observation of this particular supernova.

The study was published in the journal Nature in March 2026 and represents an important advance in understanding how some of the most violent and bright explosions in the cosmos actually work.

Published in 03/14/2026 09h15

Portuguese version

Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption. Information about DOI, author and institution can be found in the body of the article.

Reference article:

Original study:

{teste}