Scientists using NASA’s IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer) observed the magnetar 1E 1547-5408 for more than 140 hours between March and April 2025. The Aug. 5, 2026, artist’s concept depicts the powerful neutron star. During the observations, researchers may have detected empty space behaving as physicists predicted 90 years ago—a phenomenon that had never been directly observed.
Magnetars are a rare type of neutron star with the strongest magnetic fields in the observable universe. Their magnetic fields are approximately one trillion times more powerful than the strongest permanent magnets ever created on Earth.
Image credit: NASA/Pablo Garcia
Source: www.nasa.gov