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This pulsar is leaving a glowing trail as it races through our galaxy.
A pulsar is a rapidly spinning neutron star, the superdense remnant of a star destroyed in a supernova.
Some pulsars track through space at high speeds. Why?
Astronomers think an uneven supernova explosion may give a swift kick to a newborn pulsar.
The pulsar – called J0002+6216 – is among the swiftest, moving at nearly 2.5 million mph (4 million kph)…
Fast enough to go from Earth to the Moon in 6 minutes.
The pulsar shines brightly in gamma rays and was found by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.
Fermi data also allowed direct measurement of the pulsar’s speed through space.
The pulsar's trail, mapped by the Very Large Array radio telescope, points back to the heart of the 10,000-year-old supernova remnant, CTB 1.
Further study of this object will shed more light on how supernovae are able to 'kick' neutron stars to such high speed.
Faster than 99 percent of all pulsars with measured speeds, this one will eventually escape our galaxy.
NASA Astrophysics
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