Scientists witness birth of one of the universe's strongest magnets for the first time, thanks to a general relativity 'magic trick'

Astronomers witnessed the birth of a magnetar—one of the universe's strongest magnets—by observing supernova SN 2024afav, which exploded in December 2024 and displayed unusual brightness patterns for over 200 days. The supernova's light brightened and dimmed at least four times in a "chirping" pattern, caused by Lense-Thirring precession acting on a wobbling disk around the newborn magnetar. This discovery provides the first direct evidence that magnetars can form during superluminous supernovas, solving a decade-old mystery about these exceptionally bright stellar explosions.