Excess of Gamma Rays (1 of 3) (IMAGE)
Caption
An excess of gamma-rays coming from the center of the Milky Way is likely due to a population of pulsars -- rapidly spinning, very dense and highly magnetized neutron stars that emit 'beams' of gamma rays like cosmic lighthouses. The pulsars' location in the oldest region of the galaxy suggests that they leach energy from companion stars, which prolongs the pulsars' lifetime. The background image shows the galactic center as seen by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Credit
NASA/CXC/University of Massachusetts/D. Wang et al.; Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
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