Impossibly bright dead star: X-ray source in the Cigar Galaxy is the first ultraluminous pulsar ever detected
Wednesday, October 8, 2014 - 13:30
in Astronomy & Space
Astronomers working with NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) have found a pulsating dead star beaming with the energy of about 10 million suns. The object, previously thought to be a black hole because it is so powerful, is in fact a pulsar -- the incredibly dense rotating remains of a star.