Bright supernova wobbles like a spinning top

Adam Ingram is in the School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.

Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar
When a star reaches the end of its life, it sometimes goes out with a bang: an explosion, called a supernova, that is brighter than a billion Suns.

The outer layers of the star are violently thrown into space and the core collapses into an incredibly dense ‘compact object’: either a neutron star or a black hole.

The explosion first brightens rapidly, before gradually fading as the ejected layers expand and cool.

Over the past 20 years, astronomers have catalogued a population of unusually bright — or superluminous — supernovae 1 .

However, the extra energy source required for this brightness has not been clear.

Writing in Nature , Farah et al .

2 report observations of a superluminous supernova called 2024afav, which was detected using telescopes around the world almost continuously for six months.

The authors uncovered fluctuations in the brightness of the supernova, which indicate that it is powered by a highly magnetized, rapidly spinning compact star called a magnetar.

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
Receive 51 print issues and online access
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00490-3
Richardson, D.

et al.

Astron.

J.

123 , 745 (2002).

Farah, J.

R.

et al.

Nature 651 , 321–325 (2026).

Gal-Yam, A.

Annu.

Rev.

Astron.

Astrophys.

57 , 305–333 (2019).

Kasen, D.

& Bildsten, L.

Astrophys.

J.

717 , 245–249 (2010).

Hosseinzadeh, G.

et al.

Astrophys.

J.

933 , 14–28 (2022).

Lense, J.

& Thirring, H.

Z.

Phys.

19 , 156–163 (1918).

Everitt, C.

W.

F.

et al.

Phys.

Rev.

Lett.

106 , 221101 (2011).

The author declares no competing interests.

Read the paper: Lense–Thirring precessing magnetar engine drives a superluminous supernova
Mysterious ‘little red dots’ could be black holes in disguise
Dying star reveals its inner structure
Lense–Thirring precessing magnetar engine drives a superluminous supernova
Jam-packed star system is most compact of its kind ever found
Runaway black hole leaves a trail of stars
CeMM is recruiting two scientists to join as Starting Principal Investigators within a new research program on pain and aging/healthy.

Research Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM), ÖAW
Profile the cellular components of tissue microenvironments (TME) in healthy and inflamed sites.

Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen (DE)
Leibniz-Institut für Analytische Wissenschaften – ISAS – e.V.

Postdoctoral positions exploring microbiota–stem cell interactions in development, disease & cancer using gnotobiotic models, organoids & multi-omics.

The Chinese Institutes for Medical Research (CIMR), Beijing
Join Huazhong Agricultural University
No.1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU)
SUSTech School of Medicine offers equal opportunities and welcome applicants from the world with all ethnic backgrounds.

Southern University of Science and Technology, School of Medicine