C. C. Jin

In a dark corner of the Milky Way, a natural metronome is at work. Every 8196 seconds, about 2 hours and 16 minutes, X-ray light flares on the surface of a neutron star. The star EP J171159.4-333253 pulls gas from a neighboring star, and this gas, falling inward, accumulates on its surface.

Pulsar PSR J1740+1000 is a city-sized star spinning faster than a kitchen blender. After a supernova explosion, it left behind a dense core that accelerates particles to near-light speeds. These particles fly into space, and previously it was thought they scatter in all directions, like splashes from a stone thrown into water.