Science News from research organizations Strange chirping supernova confirms long-debated magnetar theory Astronomers spotted the first “chirping” supernova — a cosmic signal revealing a spinning magnetar warping space-time inside a colossal stellar explosion. Date: March 11, 2026 Source: University of California - Santa Barbara Summary: Astronomers have discovered a strange new signal coming from an exploding star — a “chirp” that speeds up over time, similar to the signals seen when black holes collide. The unusual pattern appeared in a superluminous supernova about a billion light-years away and revealed clues about what’s happening deep inside the blast. Share: Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email FULL STORY A spinning magnetar twists spacetime itself, causing the disk of material around it to wobble and produce the ultra-bright flashes of this peculiar kind of supernova. Credit: Joseph Farah and Curtis McCully of LCO For many years, astronomers have relied on distant supernovae as cosmic beacons to study the universe and test the laws of physics. But while analyzing one particular stellar explosion, Joseph Farah, a fifth year graduate student at UC Santa Barbara, noticed something entirely unexpected. The supernova appeared to produce a strange signal that sped up over time, something he described as a "chirp." In a new study accepted by the journal Nature , Farah and an international team of researchers report the discovery of a superluminous supernova (SN 2024afav) with highly unusual behavior. The group includes Farah's advisor Andy Howell, who leads the supernova research team at Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO). By applying ideas from general relativity to the aftermath of a massive star's explosion, the researchers were able to explain the strange signals seen in this extraordinarily bright event. The Mystery Behind Supernova Brightness Surges When a massive star exhausts its nuclear fuel, its core collapses and triggers a dramatic explosion known as a supernova. Most supernovae follow a fairly smooth pattern, gradually brightening before slowly fading away. Even typical supernovae can outshine entire galaxies for a time. However, astronomers have recently identified a rare group known as superluminous supernovae that shine 10 to 100 times brighter than normal ones. Scientists still do not fully understand what powers these extreme explosions. Many of them display puzzling fluctuations in brightness, brief increases in light that interrupt the expected smooth curve and hint that complex processes are unfolding within the expanding debris. Researchers have proposed several explanations for these brightness surges. One possibility is that the energy source lies at the center of the explosion. In this scenario, the collapse of the star forms a neutron star, an incredibly dense remnant that injects energy into the surrounding debris and boosts the supernova's brightness. Another idea suggests the brightness spikes occur when the blast wave from the explosion slams into dense shells of gas surrounding the star. These collisions could temporarily intensify the light coming from the expanding material. A Strange Signal From a Distant Supernova Scientists at LCO closely monitored SN 2024afav, which lies about a billion light years from Earth. During their observations, they noticed a series of repeating bumps in the supernova's brightness. Farah realized the pattern was far too structured to be explained by random interactions. The variations followed a smooth, wave like rhythm, and the time between each bump was shrinking rapidly. This meant the signal was occurring more and more frequently. For the first time, astronomers had observed a supernova producing a quasi periodic signal that increased in frequency, forming a "chirp." The phenomenon is similar to the signals detected in gravitational waves when two black holes spiral together. "There was just no existing model that could explain a pattern of bumps that get faster in time," said Farah. "I started thinking about ways this could happen, because the signal seemed too structured to be due to random interactions." A Magnetar at the Center The idea that ultimately explained the signal came from an unexpected source. At the time, Farah was auditing a General Relativity course taught by UCSB physicist Gary Horowitz. Farah proposed that the supernova left behind a magnetar, a type of neutron star that spins extremely rapidly and has an extraordinarily powerful magnetic field. In current models, a magnetar can act like an energy source that feeds power into a supernova, making it exceptionally bright and shaping its overall light curve. But existing magnetar models could not explain the repeating bumps. Those fluctuations might arise from interactions with surrounding gas or from irregularities in the magnetar's energy output. Farah suggested a different mechanism. In his model, some of the exploded material fall