All articles tagged with #pulsar
Hubble re-imaged the Crab Nebula to measure its ongoing expansion since SN 1054, finding filaments moving about 0.3 arcseconds per year (roughly 3.4 million mph) driven by energy from the central pulsar; the thousand-year-old remnant is not a static shell and new filament groups with similar emission were identified, linking the medieval guest star to a living, evolving nebula about 6,500 light-years away in Taurus.
Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, astronomers detected very faint radio pulses from 1E 1207.4-5209, a central compact object at the center of a supernova remnant nicknamed the Blue Eye Pulsar, about 10,000 light-years away. The signal matches the 424-millisecond spin, marking the first detection of radio emission from this quiet neutron star after decades; a 2015 spin glitch may have reoriented or boosted its magnetic field to make the pulses detectable, suggesting many more such faint pulsars exist and possibly explaining missing pulsars in remnants like SN 1987A.
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers identified PSR J2322-2650b, a Jupiter-mass world orbiting a pulsar. Its atmosphere is unusually rich in helium and carbon, with nitrogen and oxygen largely absent, and its clouds may condense soot into diamond, implying a “diamond rain.” The planet’s nearly pure carbon composition and puzzling formation history defy current models, challenging the line between planet and stellar remnant and prompting new theories about how such worlds form.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope observed PSR J2322-2650b, a Jupiter-mass planet in a lemon-like orbit around a millisecond pulsar, with an atmosphere dominated by molecular carbon (C2 and C3) rather than water or methane. The extreme carbon-to-oxygen and carbon-to-nitrogen ratios, plus the planet’s shape and winds, challenge current formation theories. The finding is based on spectra from a single planet using one instrument, so while striking, it highlights a new puzzle rather than a confirmed explanation for how such worlds form.
Astronomers have pinpointed the source of decades of mysterious radio emissions to a tight binary system in which a neutron star—the so‑called vampire star—feeds on its companion, solving the 20‑year mystery and illuminating how mass transfer in such systems produces observable radio signals.
Astronomers compared two high-resolution Hubble images of the Crab Nebula taken in 1999/2000 and 2024, finding the iconic supernova remnant has expanded and changed shape over 25 years. The nebula’s filaments are moving outward at about 3.4 million mph, driven by energy from the central pulsar rather than a passing shock wave, and the new view reveals 3D structure and varying gas temperatures within the expanding shell.
Hubble released a new image of the Crab Nebula, the remnant of a supernova observed in 1054 A.D., showing that its outer gas filaments have evolved and are moving faster than the inner regions over the past 25 years, a motion driven by the nebula’s central pulsar.
Space.com reports astrophotographer Ogetay Kayali captured IC 443—the Jellyfish Nebula—a 5,000‑light‑year‑old supernova remnant in Gemini near Propus. The image highlights the glowing hydrogen shell and intricate interstellar filaments, with a pulsar remaining from the explosion. Kayali notes the composition can resemble both a jellyfish and a brain, illustrating the remnant’s striking shell and its environment.
Scientists suspect a rapidly spinning, highly magnetic neutron star (a pulsar) sits near the Milky Way’s center. A Breakthrough Listen radio survey with the Green Bank Telescope (2021–2023) found a single pulsar candidate, BLPSR, around 122 rotations per second. If confirmed, such a pulsar orbiting Sagittarius A* could serve as a precise cosmic clock to test general relativity in the extreme gravity near the galaxy’s supermassive black hole, though the Galactic Center is notoriously hard to survey. Future facilities like ngVLA and SKA could help determine how many pulsars truly populate the core.
Columbia University and Breakthrough Listen identify an 8.19-millisecond pulsar candidate near the Milky Way’s Sagittarius A*, with follow-up observations underway; confirming it could enable precision tests of General Relativity around the galaxy’s central supermassive black hole.
A newly discovered exoplanet, PSR J2322-2650b, orbiting a millisecond pulsar, exhibits bizarre features such as a lemon shape, a carbon-rich atmosphere with potential diamond rain, and an unusual atmospheric rotation, challenging current understanding of planetary formation and evolution.
An unusual exoplanet called PSR J2322-2650b, located 2,000 light years away and shaped like a lemon due to the intense gravity of its pulsar host, exhibits unique characteristics including a helium-and-carbon atmosphere where rain could turn into diamonds, making it potentially a new type of celestial object.
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a unique, lemon-shaped exoplanet called PSR J2322-2650b, orbiting a pulsar at a very close distance. The planet has an unusual composition dominated by helium and carbon, with surface temperatures up to 3,700°F, and may represent a new class of cosmic object due to its peculiar shape and atmosphere. Its origins are uncertain, raising the possibility of a new type of celestial body.
Astronomers using NASA's Webb Telescope discovered a lemon-shaped exoplanet, PSR J2322-2650 b, orbiting a pulsar with a unique helium-and-carbon atmosphere, challenging existing models of planetary formation and survival under extreme conditions.
The James Webb Space Telescope discovered a unique, lemon-shaped exoplanet called PSR J2322-2650b orbiting a pulsar, with an atmosphere dominated by helium and carbon, featuring clouds of carbon soot that may form diamonds, and exhibiting an unusual formation process that challenges current understanding of planet formation.