Pulsars – NeRDs Moonbase

Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station

July 30, 2024 NeRD

4 min read Repair Kit for NASA’s NICER Mission Heading to Space Station NASA will deliver a patch kit for NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, on the agency’s Northrop Grumman 21st commercial resupply mission. Astronauts will conduct a spacewalk to complete the repair. Located near the space station’s starboard solar array, NICER was damaged in May 2023. The mission team delivered the patch kit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in May 2024 so it could be prepped and packed…

Investigating the Origins of the Crab Nebula With NASA’s Webb

June 17, 2024 NeRD

6 Min Read Investigating the Origins of the Crab Nebula With NASA’s Webb This image by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) and MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) shows different structural details of the Crab Nebula. New data revises our view of this unusual supernova explosion. A team of scientists used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to parse the composition of the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. With the telescope’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera), the team gathered data that…

Black Widow Pulsar Sets Mass Record

July 28, 2022 NeRD

A pulsar has devoured enough of its stellar companion to grab the title for most massive known neutron star. The post Black Widow Pulsar Sets Mass Record appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Seeing Inside a Cosmic Superaccelerator

May 19, 2022 NeRD

Astronomers are exploring a celestial particle accelerator in the Eel Nebula that surrounds a distant pulsar. The post Seeing Inside a Cosmic Superaccelerator appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Pulsar Shoots 7-light-year-long Phaser Blast

March 18, 2022 NeRD

Nature proves truth is still stranger than fiction: A pulsar has shot energetic particles in a thin, straight line that extends for light-years into space. The discovery might explain how antimatter makes its way to Earth. The post Pulsar Shoots 7-light-year-long Phaser Blast appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Crab Pulsar’s Mystery Bursts Are Even More Powerful Than We Thought

April 19, 2021 NeRD

The Crab Nebula pulsar has sporadically bursted for decades. Now, astronomers have found these mysterious bursts release even more energy than thought. The post Crab Pulsar's Mystery Bursts Are Even More Powerful Than We Thought appeared first on Sky & Telescope.