Astronomers detect weak radio pulses from 10,000-light-year 'Blue Eye Pulsar'
Astronomers just picked up weak radio signals from the "Blue Eye Pulsar," a neutron star 10,000 light-years away that was thought to be silent.
Formed after a supernova over 4,100 years ago, this find shakes up what scientists believed about these stars:
The signals are likely due to a 2015 glitch that may have strengthened or reoriented the star's magnetic field.
MeerKAT finds pulses after 2015 glitch
A team led by Zhang Lei used South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope to catch pulses every 424 milliseconds, matching the pulsar's spin.
The star earned its nickname because its combined X-ray and radio images look like a glowing blue eye.
A "spin glitch" in 2015 may have changed its magnetic field, letting these signals escape or become detectable for the first time.
This hints there could be more hidden pulsars out there waiting to be found, which might solve some big space mysteries.