Researchers have discovered that a bright, pulsing neutron star is the source of ultra-bright X-rays coming from near the centre of the nearby galaxy Messier 82.
Researchers have previously thought that only a black hole could emit so brightly in the X-ray region, but the team found that the source was pulsing, which black holes cannot do.
This discovery that neutron stars can emit such high X-ray luminosities suggests that the physics within neutron stars are even more extreme than what was thought possible.
Original research paper published in Nature on October 8, 2014.
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