Researchers Just Discovered The Brightest Dead Star Ever Found
Researchers Just Discovered The Brightest Dead Star Ever Found
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A rare and mighty pulsar (pink) can be seen at the center of the galaxy Messier 82 in this new multi-wavelength portrait, released on Oct. 8, 2014.NASA/JPL-Caltech
Astronomers using NASA’s NuSTAR telescope array have found something beautiful about 12 million light-years from our planet Earth: The brightest dead star, or pulsar, ever found. It’s only called a dead star because it’s the leftovers from a supernova — this thing is still very much alive, pumping out around 10 million suns’ worth of energy, according to NASA. Scientists originally thought the pulsar, located in the Messier 82 galaxy, was a black hole, but it turns out that isn’t the case at all.
“You might think of this pulsar as the ‘Mighty Mouse’ of stellar remnants,” said Fiona Harrison, the NuSTAR principal investigator at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, in a NASA release about the pulsar. “It has all the power of a black hole, but with much less mass.”
See the Astronomical League's Most Beautiful Photos from 2014
The Rosette nebula, also known as NGC 2237 or Caldwell 49, taken from Waukesha, Wisc., on Jan. 6, 2014.Dennis Roscoe, Ph.D.The Elephant's Trunk Nebula, also known as IC 1396, on April 14, 2014.Eric ColesThe Pleiades, also known as M45 or the Seven Sisters, imaged from Fayetteville, Ark., on Jan. 25, 2014.Joel TonyanAndromeda Galaxy (M31), imaged from Fayetteville, Ark., on Jan. 19, 2014, Joel TonyanA time lapse showing star trails above Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola, Fla., on March 30, 2014.Kenny AlexanderEta Aquarid meteors above Bryce Canyon in Utah, in May 2014.David LaneThe Orion Nebula, taken from Waukesha, Wisc., on Feb. 7, 2014.Dennis Roscoe, Ph.D.A star-forming nebula in Gemini, in January 2014.Brian PetersonPropeller Nebula in Cygnus, also known as DWB111, on May 1, 2014.Eric ColesThe Milky Way, taken from Pensacola Beach in Pensacola, Fla., on March 2, 2014.Kenny AlexanderAn aircraft turns over the night sky with the Milky Way in the background above Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., on Jan. 5, 2014.Matt JylhaPelican Nebula, taken from Waukesha, Wisc., on Jan. 9, 2014.Dennis Roscoe, Ph.D.The Horsehead nebula, also known as Barnard 33 in emission nebula IC 434, taken at Seneca and Oswego in Illinois, Feb.-March 2014Martin HrdlickaA panorama of the Milky Way taken from Fall Creek Falls State Park during the Eta Aquarid meteor shower on May 4, 2014.Matt HarbisonThe Rosette nebula, also known as NGC 2237 or Caldwell 49, taken from Seneca, Ill., in March 2014.Martin HrdlickaThe Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as Messier 101, M101 or NGC 5457, taken at the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys on March 1, 2014.Richard S. Wright Jr.The Milky Way with Venus rising at Pensacola Beach in Pensacola, Fla., on March 2, 2014.Kenny AlexanderWaxing Moon over Winter Garden, Fla., on Feb. 10, 2014Matt Jylha
