Crab Pulsar's high-energy beam surprises astronomers (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

Astronomers have spotted gamma ray emissions coming from the Crab Pulsar at far higher energies than expected.

This challenges notions of how these powerful electromagnetic rays - like light, but far more energetic - are formed, researchers suggest in Science.

They found emissions at more than 100 gigaelectronvolts - 100 billion times more energetic than visible light.

The Crab Nebula that hosts the pulsar continues to amaze astronomers, despite being one of the most studied objects.

The remnant of a supernova that lit up the skies on Earth in 1054, it has been taken in modern times to be a constant source of light - so constant that telescopes were trained on it for calibrations.
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more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15203788