Orpington Astronomical Society

Astronomy => In the Media... => Topic started by: Rick on Aug 29, 2007, 15:42:58

Title: Boffins bend space and time to measure neutron star
Post by: Rick on Aug 29, 2007, 15:42:58
Astronomers have caught three neutron stars in the act of distorting space-time, just as Einstein predicted. Bendy space-time has been seen around black holes before, but this is the first time astronomers have seen it around any other body.

Sudip Bhattacharyya and Tod Strohmayer, both of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, turned the XMM-Newton observatory to a binary system called Serpens-1, whose neutron star has a disc of hot iron atoms whirling around just above its surface at around 40 per cent of the speed of light.

More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/28/bendy_spacetime/