Astrophys. J. 718, 331–339 (2010)

On 19 March 2010, scientists discovered a rare astronomical object called a magnetar. For 20 days, SGR J1833-0832 emitted weak bursts of X-rays — and then fell silent.

Magnetars are neutron stars surrounded by immensely strong magnetic fields and have unpredictable burst periods. They are difficult to spot because they are so rare and are active only for a short period of time: just days to months.

Ersin Göğüş from the Sabancı University in Istanbul and his colleagues discovered the magnetar with the Burst Alert Telescope aboard NASA's Swift satellite. Using other telescopes and satellites, they tracked its location and determined its properties, noting that it spins with a period of 7.56 seconds, similar to that of other magnetars.