The story begins in 1979, in retrospect the year of the magnetar. Scientists discovered a strange object in January of that year that flashed lower-energy gamma rays and then grew dim again. Two months later, on March 5, one of the brightest gamma-ray events in the sky took place.

How many magnetars have been discovered?

Only 31 Magnetars Have Ever Been Discovered. This one is Extra Strange. It's Also a Pulsar. Some of the most stunningly powerful objects in the sky aren't necessarily the prettiest to look at.

How was magnetars discovered?

On February 21, 2008, it was announced that NASA and researchers at McGill University had discovered a neutron star with the properties of a radio pulsar which emitted some magnetically powered bursts, like a magnetar.