Dead star emits never-before seen mix of radiation

A global collaboration of telescopes including ESA's Integral high-energy space observatory has detected a unique mix of radiation bursting from a dead star in our galaxy—something that has never been seen before in this type of star, and may solve a long-standing cosmic mystery.

The finding involves two kinds of interesting cosmic phenomena: magnetars and Fast Radio Bursts. Magnetars are stellar remnants with some of the most intense magnetic fields in the Universe.

When they become 'active', they can produce short bursts of high-energy radiation that typically last for not even a second but are billions of times more luminous than the Sun.

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Credit: ESA/C.Carreau

This artist's impression provides a schematic of how the imager on-board ESA's Integral satellite (IBIS) can reconstruct images of powerful events like gamma-ray bursts (GRB) using the radiation that passes through the side of Integral’s imaging telescope.

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Credit: ESA

Artist's impression of SGR 1935+2154, a highly magnetised stellar remnant, also known as a magnetar.

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The first fast radio burst to be discovered in the Milky Way has been traced back to a magnetar known as SGR 1935+2154 located 32,616 light-years away from Earth.

Fast radio bursts are brief but cataclysmic high-energy blasts that flare for just milliseconds but release as much energy as our Sun generates in 80 years.

A magnetar is a kind of highly magnetized neutron star, the compressed core of a star that exploded in a supernova and collapsed in on itself.