Unprecedented Radiation Blasts: Pulsar Shocks Astronomers

Astrophysicists using the H.E.S.S. Observatory in Namibia have detected the largest burst of radiation ever recorded from a pulsar. The bursts, emitted by the pulsar Vela located 1,000 light-years away, reached energies as high as 20 tera-electronvolts, which is 10 trillion times more energetic than visible light. This discovery challenges previous knowledge of pulsars and requires a rethinking of how these natural accelerators work. Pulsars are incredibly dense neutron stars with highly active magnetospheres that emit periodic bursts of radiation from their magnetic poles.