First gamma-ray pulsar found outside Milky Way galaxy
First gamma-ray pulsar found outside Milky Way galaxy
J0540 is 20 times more powerful than the next most luminous gamma-ray pulsar.
By Brooks Hays | Nov. 13, 2015 at 4:23 PM
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The newly discovered gamma-ray pulsar, J0540, is one of two pulsars identified within the Tarantula Nebula.
The other is PSR J0537−6910. Photo by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/ESO/R. Fosbury (ST-ECF)
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TOULOUSE, France, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A newly discovered pulsar, called PSR J0540-6919, is the first gamma-ray pulsar to be found outside the Milky Way galaxy.
The pulsar, which was imaged by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, is also the most luminous gamma-ray pulsar astronomers have ever seen.
The newly discovered pulsar is 163,000 light-years away from our solar system, located on the outer edge of the Tarantula Nebula, an oft-studied region of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
The Tarantula Nebula is so frequently studied because it's one of the closest and most active star-forming regions. In fact, scientists have known about this impressive source of gamma rays for some time. But until now, astronomers had misunderstood the source.
More:
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2015/11/13/First-gamma-ray-pulsar-found-outside-Milky-Way-galaxy/9901447442368/?spt=sec&or=sn