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 ...

Researchers say the "powerful engine" behind superluminous exploding stars had been hidden for years — until a "chirp" from the cosmos helped confirm their link.

Sixteen years ago, theoretical astrophysicists at UC Berkeley and elsewhere proposed that highly magnetized, spinning neutron stars — magnetars — were the power source behind some superluminous ...