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Rare Lone Neutron Star Found Nearby

Posted by kdawson on from the howdy-neighbor dept.

F4_W_weasel sends us to the BBC for news of the eighth lone neutron star ever discovered. It has no associated supernova remnant, binary companion, or radio pulsations. It's in our stellar neighborhood, at most 1,000 light years away. The object emits all its radiation (as far as wa can detect with current instruments) in X rays. The object is called Calvera, after the bad guy in The Magnificent Seven — which is itself the collective nickname for the seven such objects previously known.

3 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Raw data by networkBoy · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Lots, much of it, and many respectively.
    Once MIT gets their glass plate collection on-line, expect even more discoveries.
    -nB

    --
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  2. Re:How certain are they about the radio noise? by archen · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "I think the "new discovery" part is the "without supernova remnant". Aren't most pulsars embedded in their supernova remnants?"

    While true I don't think it's exactly all that interesting that you'd find a neutron star without the remnants. There are many things that could have happened to eject such an object out of its normal position. Take a binary star system for example. If one star lost significant mass, and another gained (mass blown off of its partner) than an irregular orbit would cause the first to slingshot. That's one theory anyway.

  3. Re:Am I just being apathetic? by rerutledge · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Here's one way it *may* matter: The best explanation we have for this object, at this point, is that it is a nearby neutron star. If it is spinning rapidly (and that's an if -- we don't know how rapidly it is spinning) and it is not a perfect sphere, then it can be giving off gravitational radiation -- if, in fact, graviational radiation exists as predicted. The fact that it's nearby would make it easier to detect such radiation -- so the object is a potential target for existing gravitational wave detectors, such as LIGO. But that only matters if theories of gravity are of interest to you.