NASA's IXPE May Have Detected 90-Year-Old Physics Phenomenon Near Magnetar

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Scientists using NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spent over 140 hours observing magnetar 1E 1547-5408 between March and April 2025. The magnetar, a type of highly magnetized neutron star, was the focus of one of the mission's most intensive observation campaigns to date. Researchers believe the data may have captured empty space behaving in a theoretically predicted manner that has never been directly observed before. This phenomenon was first proposed by physicists nearly 90 years ago but has remained unconfirmed through direct evidence until now.

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