New Cosmic Lighthouse Model (VIDEO) National Institutes of Natural Sciences This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Caption This is an artist's impression of the new cosmic lighthouse model. When gases (red) fall onto a neutron star, the accretion columns are heated by shock waves and shine brightly. Photons can escape from the columns through the sidewall and do not prevent additional gas from accreting. Therefore these columns continue to emit an enormous amount of photos. In this model, due to the misalignment between the accretion columns and the rotation axis, the appearance of the accretion columns changes periodically with the rotation of the neutron star. Dazzling pulsed emissions can be observed when the apparent area of the columns reaches maximum. Credit NAOJ Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.