Magnetar discovered near supernova remnant Kesteven 79

(Photo Credit: ESA/XMM-Newton/Ping Zhou/Nanjing University)

The European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton X-ray telescope has detected two very different neutron stars in the leftover remnants from a supernova explosion located about 23,000 light-years away. The telescope even discovered that one of the neutron stars, the smaller blue object in this lower half of this image, is actually a magnetar: a neutron star boasting an extremely strong magnetic field.

Image of the Day: 21/8/14

(Photo Credit: NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/IAFE)

The results of a destructive supernova explosion have been captured in infrared and X-ray light in this image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton.

Pair of Orbiting Supermassive Black Holes Identified

(Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

For the first time, a pair of supermassive black holes have been discovered which are currently in orbit around one another.