Fast-moving neutron star seen leaving particle trail
FEB 20, 2014
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027707
Ars Technica : Earlier this week, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory imaged the particle jet emitted by one of the fastest-moving neutron stars ever observed. Traveling 4 million–8 million km/hr, IGR J11014−6103 was probably set in motion when a supernova exploded some 15 000 years ago. As the neutron star speeds through space, it has left in its wake a trail of particles stretching for trillions of kilometers. That particle jet may yield clues not only to the neutron star’s motion and axis of rotation but also to the supernova itself and the processes that produced it.
© 2014. American Institute of Physics