Astronomers Discover a Rare “Black Widow” Binary, With the Shortest Orbit Yet
An illustrated view of a black widow pulsar and its stellar companion. The pulsar’s gamma-ray emissions (magenta) strongly heat the facing side of the star (orange). The pulsar is gradually evaporating its partner. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain. The flashing of a nearby star has attracted MIT astronomers to a new and mysterious system 3,000 light-years...