"Astronomers have used a pair of pulsars orbiting each other, found with CSIRO?s Parkes telescope in 2003, to show that Einstein?s theory of general relativity is correct to within 0.05% ? the most stringent limit to date."
"The double-pulsar system, whose pulsars are called PSR J0737-3039A and B, is the only known system of radio pulsars orbiting each other. It lies 2000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Puppis.
The system consists of two massive, highly compact neutron stars, each weighing more than our own Sun but only about 20 km across, orbiting each other every 2.4 hours at speeds of a million kilometres per hour.
Separated by a distance of just a million kilometres, both neutron stars emit lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that are seen as radio ?pulses? every time the beams sweep past Earth.
By precisely measuring the variations in pulse arrival times, the researchers found the movement of the stars to exactly follow Einstein's predictions. "This is the most stringent test ever made of GR in the presence of very strong gravitational fields?only black holes show stronger gravitational effects, but they are obviously much more difficult to observe,? Professor Kramer says."
Very interesting stuff -- pulsars are what my mentor Jim and I are searching for.
"The double-pulsar system, whose pulsars are called PSR J0737-3039A and B, is the only known system of radio pulsars orbiting each other. It lies 2000 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Puppis.
The system consists of two massive, highly compact neutron stars, each weighing more than our own Sun but only about 20 km across, orbiting each other every 2.4 hours at speeds of a million kilometres per hour.
Separated by a distance of just a million kilometres, both neutron stars emit lighthouse-like beams of radio waves that are seen as radio ?pulses? every time the beams sweep past Earth.
By precisely measuring the variations in pulse arrival times, the researchers found the movement of the stars to exactly follow Einstein's predictions. "This is the most stringent test ever made of GR in the presence of very strong gravitational fields?only black holes show stronger gravitational effects, but they are obviously much more difficult to observe,? Professor Kramer says."
Very interesting stuff -- pulsars are what my mentor Jim and I are searching for.
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