Astronomers have discovered what appears to be a neutron star in Earth's neighborhood. The star has been nicknamed Calvera - after the bad guy in the 1960s western film The Magnificent Seven - and was first noticed by Robert Rutlidge of McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

With help from NASA's Swift satellite, the dead star's position was pinpointed more accurately. The Swift observations showed that the dead star wasn't associated with any known astronomical object, branding it as an isolated neutron star. If confirmed, it will be the eighth isolated neutron star, joining seven others that have already been discovered.

According to BBC News, the term "isolated neutron star" refers to a neutron star that "does not have an associated supernova remnant, binary companion, or radio pulsations". Calvera's exact type has yet to be determined, and Dr Rutledge has said that "either Calvera is an unusual example of a known type of neutron star, or it is some new type of neutron star, the first of its kind".