An international team of astronomers has detected synchronous X-ray and radio mode switching between radio-bright and a radio-quiet modes in the pulsar PSR B0823+26. The discovery marks the second time that such synchronous mode switching has been observed in a pulsar. The finding is detailed in a paper published August 6 on arXiv.org.
To date, synchronous X-ray and radio mode switching has been identified only in one old and nearly aligned pulsar known as PSR B0943+10. Therefore, astronomers are interested in finding such behavior in other objects in order to improve knowledge about the poorly understood mechanisms behind this activity.
[...] PSR B0823+26, located some 1,000 light years away from the Earth, is one of the brightest radio pulsars in the Northern sky. It has a period about 530 milliseconds, a spin-down age of approximately 4.9 million years and an inferred magnetic field of around 980 billion G.
Source: Astronomers detect synchronous X-ray and radio mode switching of the pulsar PSR B0823+26
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @09:20AM (2 children)
I love it when a philosopher swears.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 21 2018, @10:07AM
Ssssexy! Yeah.
Just sayin'
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday August 21 2018, @02:22PM
Look, maybe electric universe people could find a more productive pursuit. Abandon their silly explanations for pulsar variations. It's aliens! Their advanced civilization manipulates pulsars to broadcast signals, navigational information, and infomercials.
People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.