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Marshall News
Marshall Headlines Chandra's
find of lonely halo raises questions about dark matter NASA
named Agency of the Year by Federal Financial Managers Council, Western Region
FEATURED PHOTO
Lonely halo
For release: 07/08/2002
Photo release #: N02-005
'Quiet' star wasn't quiet after all, say scientists
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Thumbnail 100 x 100 (72)Artist Concept of X-ray pulsar EXO 2030+375
A study by scientists at the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville Ala., the University of Southampton in England and the University of Valencia in Spain, offers new insight into the EXO 2030+375 star system, particularly during a period of 32 months, from August 1993 to April 1996, when it appeared to be inactive.
For more than two years the star was "quiet." Or so scientists thought. But the X-ray pulsar EXO 2030+375 was abuzz with activity. Scientists simply lacked the ability to "hear" it over the hum of a nearby black hole. The type of pulsar studied, a transient accreting X-ray pulsar, orbits a massive star eight to 15 times the mass of our Sun, with a distinctive signature - optical emission lines caused by glowing material blown off the star into a disk around its equator.
The NSSTC is a partnership with the Marshall Center, Alabama universities and federal agencies. (NASA/MSFC/National Space Science and Technology Center/Colleen Wilson-Hodge)
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Thumbnail 100 x 100 (72)Dr. Colleen Wilson-Hodge
A new study by scientists including Dr. Colleen Wilson-Hodge of the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville Ala., offers new insight into a star system that appeared to be "quiet" for 32 months.
The NSSTC is a partnership with the Marshall Center, Alabama universities and federal agencies. (NASA/MSFC)
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