Exo Planets

Scientists have discovered nearly 300 planets that exist beyond our solar system. These are known as Exo planets. The most peculiar Exo planets are pulsar planets. Unlike most planets that orbit a star these planets orbit a neutron star. This star is a fast spinning neutron star called a pulsar which omits pulsing radio emissions. In the 1990’s scientists discovered a trio of pulsar planets in the constellation Virgo, about 900 light years away from earth.

A pulsar (neutron star) is the remnants of a supernova. The pulsar planets discovered in the constellation Virgo are different in mass; two of them are about four times the mass of the earth and the third is about twice the mass of the earth’s moon and they orbit their primary (the pulsar). These planets are packed so closely together they could fit into the orbit of Mercury.

Neutron stars are extremely dense; they are about as dense as an atomic nucleus. A small bucket filled with the material that makes up a neutron star would weigh about the same as Mount Everest.

There are two types of neutron stars, pulsars that spin rapidly and omit beeping radio frequencies and magnatars that spin more slowly and omit energy in the form of magnetism.

Magnatars are very rare and have the strongest magnetic field know in our universe. Magnatars release random massive amounts of energy which get turned into x-rays and gamma rays. Scientists have discovered a third type of neutron star, this is a star that is like a pulsar and magnatar. NASAS rossi x-ray timing explorer has observed this star ejecting five colossal bursts of energy in the form of flares, these are characteristic of magnatars. These colossal bursts occurred five times between May and July 2005, each flare lasted just a second but contained energy equivalent of tens of thousands of suns.

The pulsar, magnatar combination is very young, less than 900 years old so astronomers believe that neutron stars start their lives as magnatars and then settle down to become pulsars.