1.8 million mph and a visible fracture in the galaxy: the cosmic feat of this pulsar that scientists don’t understand

A recent study has revealed that a pulsar—a highly magnetised, rapidly rotating neutron star—has collided with a vast magnetic structure at the centre of the Milky Way, leaving a visible fracture: ‘a broken bone’ in the Universe, if you will.

Scientists, who published their findings in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, have reported that the incredibly intense interstellar event occurred around 26,000 light-years from Earth and was observed using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, and the Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico.

The structure in question, known as “the Snake” (G359.13), is a prominent magnetic filament stretching over 230 light-years. It is, as far as things in the Universe go, incredibly straight, but it does indeed have a couple of sharp bends or “kinks” that were, until recently, of unknown origin.

Led by astrophysicist Farhad Yusef-Zadeh of Northwestern University in the US, researchers have now identified a compact radio and X-ray source at the location of the most significant kink. This source is believed to be a pulsar moving at an extraordinary speed of about 1.86 million miles per hour - that’s (310 to 620 miles) per second.

“We argue that the major kink is created by a fast-moving object punching into the Snake, distorting its magnetic structure, and producing X-ray emission,” the researchers wrote in their paper.

The collision between the pulsar and the Snake’s magnetic field is thought to have caused the observed distortion in the filament. This interaction provides valuable insights into the dynamics of the galactic centre, suggesting that high-velocity objects like pulsars can influence large-scale magnetic structures.

“A secondary kink is argued to be induced by the impact of the high-velocity object producing the major kink“, the paper added. More work to be done!

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