Gamma-ray Pulsars Mapped

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning partners: Caltech/IPAC, Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Video imagery:

·       Visualization of the 294 pulsars in the Fermi gamma-ray pulsar catalog: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

·       Artist representation of pulsar spinning: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

·       Labeled visualization of Fermi gamma-ray pulsar catalog: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

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A grid of photographs of celestial bodies moves up. A white line moves down and another across. Text, News from the universe. The text is above an image of Jupiter. 

 

Text, December 11, 2023. Gamma-Ray Pulsars Mapped. 

 

A new catalog shows that NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has discovered 294 gamma-ray-emitting pulsars since its launch in 2008. 

 

In an oval, bright white shapes sparkle in a band across the oval. Dimmer shapes in different colors are scattered throughout. A key to shapes and colors is in the lower left. 

 

Text, In this animation, different types of pulsars are indicated by different shaped markers. 

 

The pulsar markers oscillate according to the object's pulsation frequency at actual speed. 

 

The key lists young pulsars and millisecond pulsars. 

 

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Text, A pulsar is a rapidly rotating, dense core of a dead massive star that emits regular, rapid pulses of light. 

 

In an animation, blue amorphous shapes move quickly around in a circle, as a beam of light oscillates out from the top and bottom through green circles of light. 

 

Text, About 10 percent of known pulsars emit gamma rays, the highest-energy form of light. 

 

Pulsars touch on a wide range of astrophysics research, from cosmic rays and stellar evolution to the search for gravitational waves and dark matter. 

 

Five pulsars are labeled. Two concentric circles group them with the densest amount inside the inner circle. The labels and circles disappear and rust-colored curved patches are behind the pulsars. 

 

Text, This news was brought to you in part by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD.