Astronomers are calling Terzan 5 CX1 a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde situation . The system of rules is compile of a small Sun - like ace and a dense , heavy neutron whiz that is constantly stealing material from its fellow traveler . The main consequence of this thieving is the yield of X - rays , which intially led to the catching of the system in 2003 .
However , something truly incredible happened in 2009 . Terzan 5 CX1 turned into another type of neutron star . It became a millisecond pulsar , a pulsating degenerate star spinning on its axis hundreds of times every second . The peculiar transmutation is due to the stolen material . When plasma from the neutron star ’s companion fell on it , this helped speed up its rotation , finally reaching the millisecond pulsar level .
But the billet is not a unchanging one . When the system had its Jekyl - to - Hyde import , the neutron star turn into a millisecond pulsar and start to let go an acute , eddy charismatic line of business that dispersed the material that had powered its original speedup . Between 2009 and 2014 , the system became fainter and fainter in X - rays , suggesting less and less accumulation of material , yet powerful radio waves were produced rival the profile of a millisecond pulsar . By 2016 , Terzan CX1 was back act like it always has done , a frame-up uranologist call downhearted - mass X - beam binary .
Only three confirmed example of these transitional millisecond pulsar organization are known . The details are reported in a newspaper publisher issue inThe Astrophysical Journal , with the X - shaft observations conducted with the NASA Chandra X - ray observatory .
TheChandra website share imagesof the globular cluster Terzan 5 where this low - mass X - re binary occupy . It is located in the Milky Way at about 19,000 lightsome - years from Earth . The orbicular cluster houses many X - ray source , including two more low - mass double star . For those , neutron stars stealing material has not led to an increase in velocity but an increment in surface temperature .
One typeface , known as Terzan 5 X-3 , was absolutely in agreement with the manikin , while another known as X-2 differed importantly . astronomer have some ideas to explain the differences , but will need to do further enquiry to confirm them .
