Telescope dons 'sunglasses' to find brightest ever pulsar
A new observation technique has helped University scientists uncover the brightest extragalactic pulsar known, and it could even be the most luminous one ever found.
Since the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of pulsars in 1967, these unusual stars – themselves remnants of massive stars – have been an object of fascination.
Though 10 times brighter than any other pulsar detected outside our Galaxy, this new pulsar had not been seen before.
Led by the University of Sydney, an international research team used the ASKAP radio telescope, owned and operated by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, to find the pulsar.
They applied a new and unusual method of seeking out pulsars – using the astronomical equivalent of ‘sunglasses’ to capture polarised light.
A new observation technique has helped University scientists uncover the brightest extragalactic pulsar known, and it could even be the most luminous one ever found.
Since the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of pulsars in 1967, these unusual stars – themselves remnants of massive stars – have been an object of fascination.
Though 10 times brighter than any other pulsar detected outside our Galaxy, this new pulsar had not been seen before.
Led by the University of Sydney, an international research team used the ASKAP radio telescope, owned and operated by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, to find the pulsar. They applied a new and unusual method of seeking out pulsars – using the astronomical equivalent of ‘sunglasses’ to capture polarised light.
