NEW YORK POST
A dead star known as the Vela pulsar redefined hit Earth with a blast of energy so powerful that scientists are at a loss to explain it, according to a new study detailing the cosmic fireworks display published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
“This discovery was so unexpected … that it somehow was difficult to understand,” said Arache Djannati-Atai, an astrophysicist with the Astroparticle & Cosmology laboratory in Paris, which helmed the illuminating research, in a statement.
Meanwhile, the phenomenon was also detected by the High Energy Stereoscopic System array in Namibia.
This is the most high-energy burst of its kind ever recorded and scientists are currently unable to explain how a pulsar could emit such intense energy. This led researcher to determine the discovery challenges existing knowledge of pulsars — and requires a rethinking of how these natural accelerators work.
For the uninitiated, the interstellar light show was caused by a pulsar, a type of neutron star which consists of the rotating remnants of a dead star that has exploded into a supernova. These stars literally go out with a bang — one that is not known to be dangerous to humankind, according to NASA.
Despite measuring just 12 miles across, this celestial centrifuge can spin at an incredible rate, emitting beams of electromagnetic radiation that are visible on Earth at regular intervals like an intergalactic lighthouse.
The Vela pulsar radiated at a whopping 20 trillion electron volts — “the highest-energy gamma rays ever detected from a pulsar,” Djannati-Atai told per Live Science.
To put this into perspective, most pulsars emit under 10 billion EV, according to Space.com.
The only other pulsar known to have ever approached Vela’s energy level was the Crab Pulsar, situated over 6,000 light-years from Earth — and even that constellation maxed out at just 1 trillion electron volts.
