Contact: Megan Watzke
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu
617-496-7998
Chandra X-ray Center

Illustration of Neutron Star Jet and Image

Caption: This artist's illustration (main graphic) depicts the jet of relativistic particles blasting out of Circinus X-1, the first extended X-ray just associated with a neutron star in a binary system. The Chandra image (inset) shows this jet to the upper right, with possible evidence of counter jets to the lower left. The jet in Circinus X-1 is helping astronomers better understand how neutron stars, and not just black holes, can generate these powerful beams of particles.

Credit: Illustration: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss X-ray image: NASA/CXC/U. of Wisc/S. Heinz et al.

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