NASA's Fermi Catches a 'Transformer' Pulsar

[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA's Fermi Catches a 'Transformer' Pulsar

In late June 2013, an exceptional binary containing a rapidly spinning neutron star underwent a dramatic change in behavior never before observed. The pulsar's radio beacon vanished, while at the same time the system brightened fivefold in gamma rays, the most powerful form of light, according to measurements by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

"It's almost as if someone flipped a switch, morphing the system from a lower-energy state to a higher-energy one," said Benjamin Stappers, an astrophysicist at the University of Manchester, England, who led an international effort to understand this striking transformation. "The change appears to reflect an erratic interaction between the pulsar and its companion, one that allows us an opportunity to explore a rare transitional phase in the life of this binary."

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[Waspie_Dwarf]

NASA's Fermi Catches a 'Transformer' Pulsar

Zoom into an artist's concept of AY Sextantis, a binary star system whose pulsar switched from radio emissions to high-energy gamma rays in 2013. This transition likely means the pulsar's spin-up process is nearing its end.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Source: NASA Goddard - Multimedia