Scientists reached a new frontier in understanding pulsars, the dense, whirling remains of exploded stars. 💥 The NICER X-ray instrument on the International Space Station produced the 1st dependable measurements of both the mass and size of a pulsar, including a surface map. It turns out these cores of dead stars can be weirder than we thought. NICER was built and is operated out of Goddard. Read more: https://go.nasa.gov/2PIWwlg | NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Pulsar: A pulsar (pulsating star, on the model of quasar) 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 Earth (similar to the way a lighthouse can be seen only when the light is pointed in the direction of an observer), and is responsible for the pulsed appearance of emission. Neutron stars are very dense and have short, regular rotational periods

2M views · 12K reactions | If a pulsar star came close to Saturn, its tidal forces would totally disrupt Saturn's rings. Made using SpaceSim. #cosmoknowledge #pulsarstar #cosmos #stars #space #universe #saturn | Cosmoknowledge | Facebook