PSR B0943+10 is a

pulsar A pulsar (from ''pulsating radio source'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles. This radiation can be observed only when a beam of emission is pointing toward Ea ...

2,000 light years from Earth in the direction of the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

Leo Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...

. It was discovered at Pushchino in December 1968, becoming the first pulsar discovered by

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

astronomers. The original designation of this pulsar was PP 0943PSR B0943+10 -- Pulsar
in

SIMBAD SIMBAD (the Set of Identifications, Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) is an astronomical database of objects beyond the Solar System. It is maintained by the Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS), France. SIMBA ...

Characteristics

The pulsar is estimated to be 5 million years old, which is relatively old for a pulsar. It has a rotational period of 1.1 seconds and emits both

radio wave Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (short ...

s and

X-rays An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 Picometre, picometers to 10 Nanometre, nanometers, corresponding to frequency, ...

. Ongoing research at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

discovered that the pulsar was found to flip roughly every few hours between a radio bright mode with highly organized pulsations and a quieter mode with rather chaotic temporal structure. Moreover, the observations of the pulsar performed simultaneously with the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory and ground-based

radio telescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...

s revealed that it exhibits variations in its X-ray emission that mimic in reverse the changes seen in radio waves – the pulsar has a weaker non-pulsing X-ray luminosity during the radio bright mode and is actually brighter during the radio quiet mode emitting distinct X-ray pulses. Such changes can only be explained if the pulsar's

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior dynam ...

(which may extend up to 52,000 km from the surface) quickly switches between two extreme states. The change happens on a few seconds timescale, far faster than most pulsars. Despite being one of the first pulsars discovered, the mechanism for its unusual behavior is unknown. In 2006, a research group from

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

published a paper suggesting that the pulsar may actually be a low-mass quark star with mass around .

Planetary system

In May 2014, two gas giants were found orbiting PSR B0943+10."The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia Planet PSR B0943+10 c"
/ref>"The Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia Planet PSR B0943+10 b"
/ref>

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:PSR B0943+10 Leo (constellation) Pulsars Stellar phenomena Planetary systems with two confirmed planets