PSR J0738−4042 is the first
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 ...
observed to have been affected by
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
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s.
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It was originally discovered in 1968.
[ In 2013 scientists at the University of Oxford, Hartebeesthoek Observatory and ]CSIRO
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...
announced that they had observed changes in the pulsar's spin rate and the shape of its radio pulse indicating that asteroids were encountering it, including one with a mass of about a billion tons.
The scientists suggested that the material blown out from the explosion which formed the pulsar could have fallen back towards it, developing a disk of debris including asteroids.[
]
References
Puppis
Pulsars
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