ATCA becomes stellar 'speed camera' in world-first measurement

For the first time, the super-fast speeds of a neutron star's powerful jets have been recorded by CSIRO's Australia Telescope Compact Array on Gomeroi Country and the European Space Agency's Integral observatory.

Researchers have measured the jets of neutron stars to be moving at 114,000km per second, one-third the speed of light.

These latest results revealed that thermonuclear explosions, detected by Integral, pushed gas into the jets. The jets were then tracked with ATCA allowing their speed to be recorded.

This research has been published in Nature.

Added by Gabby Russell on 2024-04-02