Astronomers observe magnetar birth, confirming its role in bright supernovae

news.berkeley.edu

Astronomers observed the birth of a magnetar, confirming it powers some of the universe's brightest exploding stars. This discovery validates a 16-year-old theory and explains the unusual brightness and light curve "chirp" of superluminous supernovae. The findings provide definitive evidence for magnetar formation in these events and offer a new application of general relativity in astrophysics.


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