'Black Widow' Pulsar Is Fastest Star Killer

'Black Widow' Pulsar Is Fastest Star Killer : Discovery News: "An astronomical fishing expedition using data from NASA's Fermi gamma ray space telescope has landed scientists a big and unprecedented catch -- a neutron star spinning 390 times per second.



The pulsing neutron star, or pulsar, is not alone. Its companion is a very dense star at least eight times more massive than Jupiter but with only 60 percent of its girth. Astronomers believe the companion, which is 30 times as dense as the sun, is most likely the compacted remains of a star that has been orbiting the pulsar for eons."