A chirping signal caught a magnetar being born

A strange chirping signal from a distant supernova has been traced to the birth of a magnetar, a neutron star with a magnetic field trillions of times stronger than Earth's. It confirms these objects can power the brightest stellar explosions we see.

Why it matters: it links two mysteries, the universe's brightest explosions and its most magnetic objects, into one story backed by direct evidence rather than a guess.

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