Images by Date
Images by Category
Solar System
Stars
Exoplanets
White Dwarfs
Supernovas
Neutron Stars
Black Holes
Milky Way Galaxy
Normal Galaxies
Quasars
Galaxy Clusters
Cosmology/Deep Field
Miscellaneous
Images by Interest
Space Scoop for Kids
4K JPG
Multiwavelength
Sky Map
Constellations
Photo Blog
Top Rated Images
Image Handouts
Desktops
Fits Files
Image Tutorials
Photo Album Tutorial
False Color
Cosmic Distance
Look-Back Time
Scale & Distance
Angular Measurement
Images & Processing
AVM/Metadata
Image Use Policy
Web Shortcuts
Chandra Blog
RSS Feed
Chronicle
Email Newsletter
News & Noteworthy
Image Use Policy
Questions & Answers
Glossary of Terms
Download Guide
Get Adobe Reader
Space Scoop
SXP 1062: The Star with a Slow Pulse

Weird things happen to stars when they run out of fuel. That's because the fuel doesn't just generate light and heat - it is needed to stop stars from collapsing! This is a problem that the bright white star in the right-hand-side of this new space photo has already faced.

When huge stars use up all of their fuel supplies, their outer shells of gas explode. This is called a supernova explosion. Meanwhile, the core of the star survives the explosion, but it starts to collapse in on itself. It squashes what remains of the star into a tiny ball. That's what happened to the bright star in this photo.

After the collapse, the tiny star is then called a neutron star. A neutron star has a mass about twice that of our Sun, but packed into a ball that is only 24 kilometers wide - that's about 60,000 times narrower than the Sun!

Some neutron stars, like the one pictured here, rotate and give off a powerful beam of light from their north and south poles. These types of neutron stars are called pulsars. We can only see the beam of light from a pulsar when it points towards us as it rotates - like a lighthouse!

Most pulsars rotate incredibly quickly, with some spinning several times per second. But the pulsar in this photo is more relaxed and only spins once every 18 minutes! Why it is spinning so slowly is a mystery to astronomers.

Cool fact: When astronomers first discovered a regular pulse of light coming from what we now call pulsars, they didn't know what to make of it. In fact, the first pulse of light from space was nicknamed 'Little Green Men', because it was possible that aliens were sending out this signal!


This is a kids' version of Chandra Press Release SXP 1062 (December 20, 2011)

Do you want to learn more about this topic?

Visit the Chandra field guide or send us your questions in an email: cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu




In cooperation with Space Scoop: Bringing news from across the Universe to children all around the world. Universe Awareness and the Chandra X-ray Observatory


Children & Online Privacy
RSS feed