Odd-Shaped Pulsar Discovered

Astronomers at Caltech and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory have discovered a pulsar caught in the act of escaping from the debris created during its violent formation only 15,000 years ago. Their observations, reported in Nature, show that the pulsar is the youngest and potentially the fastest moving neutron star yet discovered in our galaxy.

The supernova remnant they studied has been a source of curiosity because of its unusual shape, which resembles a crossbow launching an arrow. Shrinivas R. Kulkarni of Caltech and Dale A. Frail of NRAO concluded that the tip of the “arrow” was a pulsar speeding away from the supernova, leaving behind an elongated trail of hot radio-emitting gases.

“If the pulsar and the supernova remnant were created in the same supernova event (the explosion of a massive star), then the current speed of the pulsar would have to be 5.4 million miles per hour--the highest value known for any pulsar,” Kulkarni said. “If our assertion is correct, then one must seriously consider the notion that supernovae collapses can be quite asymmetrical.”