Monday, November 9, 2026

A Stellar Odd Couple at an Unusual Stage of Evolution

Artist's impression of the binary system NGC 362d. On the left, the millisecond pulsar draws material from its white dwarf companions, and emits beams of radio waves; on the right, the young white dwarf is surrounded by material leftover from the previous mass transfer. Image Credit: INAF (Image generated using artificial intelligence.)

Millisecond pulsars are fascinating objects that serve as natural clocks in the Universe. They form by drawing material and angular momentum from a companion. This mass transfer can rapidly accelerate the companion's evolution to a white dwarf. Astronomers have detected a millisecond pulsar's white dwarf companion that appears to be observed just as the mass transfer completed. They can still see some of the debris.



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