SGR 1806−20 is a magnetar, a type of neutron star with a very powerful magnetic field, that was discovered in 1979 and identified as a soft gamma repeater. SGR 1806−20 is located about 14.5 kiloparsecs from Earth on the far side of the Milky Way in the constellation of Sagittarius.

Mass: 2.464 × 10^31 kg (12.39 M☉)

Surface temperature: 136,000 K

Distance to Earth: 47,290 light years

Apparent magnitude (V): totally obscured

Constellation: Sagittarius

Did you know: Fifty thousand years after a starquake occurred on the surface of SGR 1806-20, the radiation from the resultant explosion reached Earth on December 27, 2004 (GRB 041227).