Zhang Lei Team Detects 424-Millisecond Radio Pulses From Blue Eye Pulsar After 2015 Glitch
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Jul 6
Zhang Lei Team Detects 424-Millisecond Radio Pulses From Blue Eye Pulsar After 2015 Glitch
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Jul 6
Summary
1E 1207.4-5209, a central compact object once thought radio-silent, was found emitting faint pulses every 424 milliseconds with South Africa's MeerKAT telescope.
The signal matches the neutron star's known spin period, and Zhang Lei's team says a 2015 spin glitch likely strengthened or reoriented its magnetic field enough to make the radio beam detectable.
The object sits about 10,000 light-years away in a supernova remnant from an explosion more than 4,100 years ago, and its radio emission may fade again as the post-glitch rotation gradually slows.
The finding, reported June 25 in Nature Astronomy, suggests some of the roughly dozen known radio-quiet central compact objects may actually be extremely faint pulsars, helping explain missing pulsars in remnants such as SN 1987A.
If a 2015 'starquake' woke this dead star, will it fall silent again when its spin slows down?
Could millions of 'ghost' pulsars be hiding in our galaxy, waiting for a glitch to reveal themselves?
How will giant new telescopes change our understanding of stellar death if 'silent' objects can just turn on?
The Blue Eye Pulsar (1E 1207.4-5209): First-Ever Radio-Emitting Central Compact Object Challenges Neutron Star Models
Overview
The Blue Eye Pulsar (1E 1207.4-5209) is the dense remnant of a massive star that exploded in a supernova over 4,100 years ago. In 2015, astronomers observed a sudden 'spin glitch' in this neutron star, likely caused by internal material shifting. This event marked a small but significant increase in its rotation. Recently, scientists detected radio pulses from the Blue Eye Pulsar for the first time, a groundbreaking discovery that challenges the belief that such objects are radio-silent. This finding opens new paths for understanding neutron stars and their mysterious behaviors.