An artistic representation of the PSR J1023 +0038 binary system. The pulsar, not visible in the image, is surrounded by its luminous magnetosphere, from which two radiation beams (in green) emanate, emitted in opposite directions. The binary companion, visible on the left, has acquired an oblate shape due to the pulsar’s gravitational attraction. A stream of matter moves from the binary companion towards the pulsar, where it will gradually form an accretion disk. Other matter, coming from the companion star irradiated by the pulsar, is lost in space [NASA Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio]

A 13-Micron High “Mountain” on a Neutron Star 4,500 Light-Years Away

Is it possible to discover an asymmetry of a few thousandths of a millimeter on a neutron star 42 million billion km from Earth? Incredible as it may seem, it is possible. An Indian astrophysicist did it, using the available observational data elegantly and creatively

A millisecond pulsar

In the direction of the small constellation Sextans (the Sextant), straddling the celestial equator, there is a binary system consisting of a millisecond pulsar called PSR J1023 +0038 and a companion star classified with the spectral type G6. This system has been the subject of many studies in the last two decades due to its rare characteristics. PSR J1023 +0038 is, in fact, one of only three pulsars currently known to have been observed in two distinct states: the normal one, so to speak, in which its pulsation is clearly distinguishable in radio waves, and the accretion state, in which around the pulsar a disk is formed on which streams of matter torn from the companion star are deposited. These streams temporarily interfere with the pulsed signal, hiding it.