(dr) University of Michigan
Researchers have found a neutron star in the Milky Way that rotates at a speed of 716 times per second.
A neutron star was identified with the help of NASA’s NICER X-ray telescope, which captured extreme thermonuclear explosions very similar to atomic explosions.
According to , these explosions shine 100,000 times brighter than the Sun and are powerful sources of information about the life cycles of neutron stars and the creation of elements in the Universe.
A 4U 1820-30so named, is part of an X-ray binary star system located in the constellation Sagittarius, near the center of our galaxy.
“We were studying thermonuclear explosions in this system when we found oscillations that suggested the existence of a neutron star rotating around its central axis at an astonishing rate. 716 times per second,” said Gaurava K. Jaisawal, scientist at DTU Space.
“If future observations confirm it, this neutron star is one of the objects of faster rotation ever observed in the Universe, equaled only by another neutron star, called PSR J1748–2446,” added the expert.
A neutron star, also known as a dead star, consists of the remnant of a large, massive star that exploded in a supernova.
4U 1820-30 is just 12 kilometers in diameter, but has a mass 1.4 times that of the Sun. It is located 26,000 light-years away from Earth and is part of a binary system, in which the companion star it is a white dwarf the same size as our planet.
Due to its intense gravity, the star pulls material away from its companion and when enough material accumulates on its surface, a violent thermonuclear explosion.
“During these explosions, the neutron star becomes up to 100,000 times brighter than the Sun, releasing an immense amount of energy,” said researcher Jerome Chenevez. “We are dealing with very extreme events, and by studying them we gain new information about the life cycles of binary star systems and the formation of elements in the Universe.”
The was published in The Astrophysical Journal.
