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Eruption of mega-magnetic star lights up nearby galaxy - EurekAlert


<strong>While ESA&rsquo;s satellite INTEGRAL was observing the sky, it spotted a burst of gamma-rays - high-energy photons - coming from the nearby galaxy M82. Only a few hours later, ESA&rsquo;s XMM-Newton X-ray space telescope searched for an afterglow from the explosion but found none. An international team, including researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), realised that the burst must have been an extra-galactic flare from a magnetar, a young neutron star with an exceptionally strong magnetic field. The discovery is published in the journal&nbsp;<em>Nature</em>.</strong>

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