Double star composed of pulsars

2004/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Astronomia

Astronomers have discovered that a double star consists of two pulsars. This discovery can serve to better understand the energy rays produced by pulsars and analyze Einstein's gravitational theory.

(Photo: ANDÉN).

Although at first it was believed that the double system was composed of a pulsar and a neutron star, then they could see that what they considered a neutron star was also pulsed. Pulsars are dense stars that rotate at high speed and emit light and radiation rays. In this system the pulsars revolve around each other and, as for its rotation, the biggest turns 23 milliseconds and the other 2.8 seconds.

It is believed that this system was born when the largest pulse began to absorb the matter of the smallest. According to the researchers, turning around each other, they release gravitational waves and gradually lose energy until within 85 million years they meet in a hard shock.