Scientists just found a supercharged supernova — powered up by a magnetic star corpse

space.com May 25, 2026

Scientists just found a supercharged supernova — powered up by a magnetic star corpse

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · May 25, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray spacecraft has observed a supercharged supernova explosion, potentially powered by a highly magnetic dead star, or magnetar. The supernova, SN 2017egm, was discovered in 2017 and is one of the closest core-collapse supernovas to Earth. Astronomers have been searching Fermi data for gamma-ray signals from supernovae for nearly 20 years, with this being the first definitive detection. The magnetar is thought to have been born in the supernova, with its strong magnetic field and rapid spin rate intensifying the explosion. This discovery provides new insights into the mechanisms behind superluminous supernovas, with scientists keen to understand what drives their exceptional energy.

💡 Why It Matters

· The discovery of gamma-rays from a superluminous supernova opens a new window for studying these events, allowing scientists to probe the extreme physics of magnetars and their role in shaping the explosion.

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Satellite AI Inference Clears Orbit: Gemma 3 Ran Aboard YAM-9 in April

Loft Orbital's YAM-9 spacecraft successfully demonstrated the first publicly disclosed execution of a vision-language model in orbit. Aboard the spacecraft, Google DeepMind's Gemma 3 performed natural language queries, classified Earth imagery, and produced plain-English summaries without transmitting raw pixels to the ground. This achievement marks a significant shift in the value layer of Earth observation, moving from ground-based processing to onboard inference capabilities. The model, running on an Nvidia Jetson Orin AGX graphics processing unit, utilized a software harness developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to fit within the spacecraft's memory budget and processing constraints.

💡 This breakthrough enables Earth observation satellites to operate more autonomously, reducing reliance on ground-based processing and potentially leading to faster and more efficient analysis of satellite imagery.

space.com · Jun 17

‘Best. Mars. Mission. Ever.’ Scientists hail MAVEN’s legacy as NASA retires Red…

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💡 The loss of MAVEN highlights the risks and uncertainties inherent in space exploration, but its legacy will endure as a testament to human ingenuity and scientific curiosity. By pushing the boundaries of our understanding of Mars, MAVEN has paved the way for future missions and discoveries, ensuring that the Red Planet remains a vital area of research and exploration.

spacenews.com · Jun 17

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💡 This investment will accelerate Dawn Aerospace's growth in emerging markets, including hypersonics testing and in-space mobility. By delivering reusable, responsive access across the air and space domain, Dawn can unlock the economic potential of space and solve critical national security challenges.

spacenews.com · Jun 17

America’s next economic frontier is 240,000 miles away

NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts have completed the first crewed lunar orbit in 50 years, marking a new era of returning to the moon. The moon is no longer just a place of scientific curiosity, but America's next great economic frontier, with its surface holding valuable resources such as water ice, hydrogen, and helium-3. Commercial space companies like Firefly Aerospace are already involved, with plans for repeatable missions to the moon, including a mission to the far side within the year. The goal is to establish a permanent moon base, with mining, resource extraction, and manufacturing driving a massive economic boom. NASA and commercial space companies are working together to achieve this, with the global space economy expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035. The moon's resources will support sustained human presence and enable new industries beyond Earth, with the US at the forefront.

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space.com · Jun 17

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💡 Amazon's growing satellite constellation, Amazon Leo, is dwarfed by SpaceX's Starlink, but this launch marks a significant milestone in the company's efforts to expand its broadband network in low Earth orbit. The success of this mission will further demonstrate the capabilities of the Ariane 6 rocket and its potential to support large satellite constellations.

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💡 The Swiss decision highlights the financial sustainability of Copernicus' open-data policy, which may become a concern if more countries question why they should pay into a system that non-contributors can still use.