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Rare Gamma-Ray Burst Reveals Newborn Magnetar's Secrets

10/1/2025

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Summary

Story summary

On March 7, 2023, the gamma-ray burst GRB 230307A was detected, the second-brightest burst recorded.
The event lasted one minute, longer than typical neutron-star mergers, which end within two seconds.
Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University detected a 160-millisecond signal, implying a rapidly spinning newborn magnetar powering the burst; the findings were published in Nature Astronomy.

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Story summary

On March 7, 2023, the gamma-ray burst GRB 230307A was detected, the second-brightest burst recorded.
The event lasted one minute, longer than typical neutron-star mergers, which end within two seconds.
Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and Nanjing University detected a 160-millisecond signal, implying a rapidly spinning newborn magnetar powering the burst; the findings were published in Nature Astronomy.