Astronomers capture birth of a magnetar, confirming link to some of universe’s brightest exploding stars

Artist’s conception of a magnetar surrounded by an accretion disk that is wobbling, or precessing, because of the effects of general relativity. Some models of magnetars suggest that high-speed jets of charged particles emanate from the magnetar along its

Artist’s conception of a magnetar surrounded by an accretion disk that is wobbling, or precessing, because of the effects of general relativity. Some models of magnetars suggest that high-speed jets of charged particles emanate from the magnetar along its rotation axis.

Joseph Farah and Curtis McCully/Las Cumbres Observatory

April 1, 2026
Robert Sanders

A UC Berkeley theorist proposed that highly magnetized, spinning neutron stars were the power source behind superluminous supernovae. A recent supernova provided the smoking gun.

Astronomers have for the first time seen the birth of a magnetar — a highly magnetized, spinning neutron star — and confirmed that it’s the power source behind some of the brightest exploding stars in the cosmos.

Read the full story here: https://news.berkeley.edu/2026/03/11/astronomers-capture-birth-of-a-magn...

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