The pulsar PSR B1957+20 is seen in the background through the cloud of gas enveloping its brown dwarf star companion. Credit: Dr. Mark A. Garlick; Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto
A team of astronomers has performed one of the highest resolution observations in astronomical history of a pulsar 6,500 light-years away. The observation is equivalent to using a telescope on Earth to see a flea on the surface of Pluto. The extraordinary observation was made possible by the rare geometry and characteristics of a pair of stars orbiting each other. One is a cool, lightweight star called a brown dwarf, which features a “wake” or comet-like tail of gas. The other is an exotic, rapidly spinning star called a pulsar.
“The gas is acting as like a magnifying glass rig...
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