Giant Radio Pulses are Even More Giant than we Thought - The Cosmic Companion - April 10, 2021
Energetic giant radio pulses from quasars put out a lot more energy than predicted, a new study of the Crab Nebula reveals
Giant radio pulses from pulsars are odder — and even more giant than we thought. Ho ho ho.
The Crab Nebula reveals giant radio pulses are really giant. Image credit: NASA/ESA/J.Hester/ASU
Pulsars are one of the more intriguing objects in the sky, radiating regular flashes of electromagnetic energy, which can (sometimes) be seen from Earth. Flashing with astonishing regularity, these objects are stellar corpses of massive stars that met their demise in supernovae. When beams of energy are aligned just right, they can be seen from Earth as regular pulses of light.
Occasionally, pulsars produce unpredictable giant radio pulses (GRPs) — short-lived bursts of energy far more powerful than the flashes coming from the stellar corpse itself.
New observations show x-ray emissions from the pulsar at the heart of the Crab Nebula are about four percent higher than expected. This means the total amount of energy emitted by this object (and others like it) is tens to hundreds of times greater than previously believed.
Read more: https://thecosmiccompanion.net/giant-radio-pulses-are-even-more-giant-than-we-thought
April is going to be an exciting month on Astronomy News with The Cosmic Companion! Here’s a look at our guests:
April 13 (s4/e15): Affelia Wibisono of University College London, discussing the recent discovery of X-rays from Uranus.
April 20 (s4/e16): Andrew Fazekas, the “Night Sky Guy,” talking about his National Geographic Backyard Guide to the Night Sky.
Plus – just added - NASA’s Joshua Ravich, mechanical engineering lead for the Ingenuity helicopter on Mars.
April 27 (s4/e17): Ohad Harlev, CEO of Lyteloop, discussing new technology for storing data in space.
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