New data from a Canadian-led team of astronomers, including researchers from the McGill Space Institute and McGill University Department of Physics, strongly suggest that magnetars—a type of neutron star believed to have an extremely powerful magnetic field—could be the source of some fast radio bursts (FRBs). Though much research has been done to explain the mysterious phenomenon, their source has thus…
Tag: neutron
Astronomers release a black hole family portrait
“Black hole family portrait” is a fancy way of saying “new catalog.” But it’s a very important and exciting catalog, released October 28, 2020 by gravitational wave astronomers, containing 39 new signals from black hole or neutron star collisions. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/ligo-virgo-new-catalog-gwtc-2-black-hole-family-portrait…
LIGO and Virgo announce 39 new gravitational wave discoveries during first half of third observing run
The LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration released a catalog of results from the first half of its third observing run (O3a), and scientists have detected more than three times as many gravitational waves than the first two runs combined. Gravitational waves were first detected in 2015 and are ripples in time and space produced by merging black holes and/or neutron…
Mystery of unusual neutron star system revealed after 20 years, thanks to thousands of volunteers
After more than two decades, an international research team has identified a galactic mystery source of gamma rays: a heavy neutron star with a very low mass companion orbiting it. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-mystery-unusual-neutron-star-revealed.html…
Improved model shows gamma rays and gold at merging neutron stars
An international team of astrophysicists under Dutch leadership has demonstrated with an improved model that colliding neutron stars can emit gamma rays. Old models did not predict this and faltered since the merging of two neutron stars in 2017 that released gamma rays. The researchers publish their findings in the The Astrophysical Journal. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-gamma-rays-gold-merging-neutron.html…
Warm pasta helps hot, angry neutron stars cool down
Neutron stars are like the most efficient thermoses in the universe, filled with hot noodle soup. Here’s how, over the course of millions of years, they cool down. Source: https://www.livescience.com/neutron-star-pasta-neutrinos.html
New research suggests innovative method to analyse the densest star systems in the Universe
In a recently published study, a team of researchers led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) at Monash university suggests an innovative method to analyse gravitational waves from neutron star mergers, where two stars are distinguished by type (rather than mass), depending on how fast they’re spinning. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-method-analyse-densest-star-universe.html…
Astronomers find x-rays lingering years after landmark neutron star collision
It’s been three years since the landmark detection of a neutron star merger from gravitational waves. And since that day, an international team of researchers led by University of Maryland astronomer Eleonora Troja has been continuously monitoring the subsequent radiation emissions to provide the most complete picture of such an event. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-astronomers-x-rays-lingering-years-landmark.html…
Researchers find ‘missing link’ between magnetars and rotation-powered pulsars
Researchers from the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research have made observations of a new magnetar, called Swift J1818.0-1607, which challenges current knowledge about two types of extreme stars, known as magnetars and pulsars. The research, just published in the Astrophysical Journal, was done using the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), an X-ray instrument aboard the International Space Station. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-10-link-magnetars-rotation-powered-pulsars.html…
X-ray data reveal 1st-ever planet orbiting stars in another galaxy
While extragalactic “rogue” planets – not orbiting any star – have been reported before, the new exoplanet is the first to be detected orbiting stars in another galaxy. And not just any galaxy … but M51, the beautiful Whirlpool, 23 million light-years away. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/1st-exoplanet-in-another-galaxy-whirlpool-m51-uls-1b…