Astronomers have cataloged signs of nine heavy metals in the infrared light from supergiant and giant stars. New observations based on this catalog will help researchers to understand how events like binary neutron star mergers have affected the chemical composition and evolution of our own Milky Way Galaxy and other galaxies. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-01-stellar-heavy-metals-history-galaxies.html…
Tag: neutron star
LIGO-Virgo gravitational wave network catches another neutron star collision
On April 25, 2019, the LIGO Livingston Observatory picked up what appeared to be gravitational ripples from a collision of two neutron stars. LIGO Livingston is part of a gravitational-wave network that includes LIGO (the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the European Virgo detector. Now, a new study confirms that this event was indeed…
Gravitational wave mystery could be a sign of a new kind of black hole
A neutron star has produced gravitational waves after colliding with an unknown object – it could be the smallest black hole or biggest neutron star ever found Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2229190-gravitational-wave-mystery-could-be-a-sign-of-a-new-kind-of-black-hole/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
New research looks at neutron star blasts
X-ray bursts are highly energetic releases of radiation from the surfaces of neutron stars, triggered by the explosive burning of material accumulated on the surface. It’s the same type of burning that happens in the cores of ordinary stars like the sun, but in this case, happening on the surface. Thus, unlike the sun, where it takes hundreds of thousands of…
Astronomers find ‘missing’ neutron star after 32 years
Thirty-two years ago, Supernova 1987A erupted in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. Astronomers using the ALMA radio telescope now say they’ve found the small, compact neutron star created in this mighty star explosion. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/astronomers-find-missing-neutron-star-sn1987a…
Scientists map a pulsar for the 1st time
Using a revolutionary X-ray telescope aboard the International Space Station, scientists have finally created the 1st pulsar surface “map.” It shows odd hot spots and suggests that pulsar magnetic fields are more complicated than anyone had assumed. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/pulsar-surface-map-hot-spots-size-mass-j0030-nicer…
A Hotspot Map of Neutron Star J0030s Surface
What do neutron stars look like? Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html…
A neutron star with an unusual magnetic field structure
Scientists from Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology, Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IKI), and Pulkovo Observatory discovered a unique neutron star, the magnetic field of which is apparent only when the star is seen under a certain angle relative to the observer. Previously, all neutron stars could be grouped into two large families: the first one…
Gamma-ray binary HESS J0632+057 contains a pulsar, study suggests
Using NuSTAR spacecraft and the VERITAS array of telescopes, an international team of astronomers has investigated a gamma-ray binary known as HESS J0632+057. The study found that a compact object in this system is most likely a pulsar—a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star emitting beams of electromagnetic radiation. The finding is reported in a paper published November 21 on arXiv. Source:…
This ‘Blob’ of Radiation Might Be a Long-Lost Neutron Star
In 1987, a star exploded, creating the brightest supernova to light up Earth’s skies in 400 years. That star’s corpse has been missing for 30 years. Now, researchers think they’ve found it. Source: https://www.livescience.com/hidden-neutron-star-supernova-1987A.html