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Astronomers have for the first time witnessed the birth of a magnetar and confirmed that these ultra-magnetized neutron stars power superluminous supernovae — stellar explosions up to 100 times brighter than normal. A groundbreaking Nature study of supernova SN 2024afav reveals that the magnetar's extreme spin literally drags spacetime itself through the Lense-Thirring effect, causing an accretion disk to wobble and produce a telltale "chirp" — marking the first time general relativity has been required to explain the mechanics of a supernova.