Astronomers have identified the fastest ever spinning magnetar. Located about 21,000 light-years away from Earth is a magnetar called J1818.0-1607 and it is definitely unique and special. First, let’s talk about magnetars. They are a unique type of neutron star – a very dense object that is made up of mostly tightly packed neutrons and is created from the collapsed core of a once-gigantic star that went supernova. The difference between a magnetar and a normal neutron star is that it has an exceptionally strong magnetic field (the strongest in the entire universe) and can explode without any warnings. Additionally, they are extremely hard to find as just 30 magnetars have been found prior to J1818.0-1607. This is a very low number considering that about 3,000 neutrons stars have been discovered thus far.