PSR J0357+3205 in 60 Seconds
Narrator (April Hobart, CXC): A spinning neutron
star is tied to a mysterious tail, or is it?
Astronomers using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory
have found a long, X-ray bright tail streaming
away from the pulsar known as PSR J0357. The
tail appears to stretch for over 4 light years
from behind the pulsar, which would make it
the longest one ever seen trailing behind
this type of pulsar. However, as is often
the case in astronomy, things are not quite
so simple. The amount of energy being lost
from the pulsar doesn't seem to account for
all of the material seen in the tail. Also,
the brightest portion of the tail is not actually
near the pulsar, which scientists would expect.
So scientists plan on looking at PSR J0357
more in the future with Chandra and other
telescopes, and hope that even more data will
help them pin down what is happening in this
intriguing object.
