First super-fast pulsar found snacking on companion in far-flung star cluster Words
Words by Gemma Lavender
China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) has uncovered the first known pulsar in Messier 92, a globular star cluster roughly 27,000 light years away in the constellation of Hercules. The swiftly spinning and pulsating object, which goes by two names - PSR J1717+4307A and M92A - forms one part of an eclipsing binary system in which it is siphoning material from a stellar companion.