‘Zombie’ pulsar is spinning slower than should be physically possible

By Jonathan O.

There are questions about how long the star remnants can remain active.

A dense core can be left behind when a giant star explodes. If this core is magnetised and spinning fast, it can send out radio waves.

The University of Manchester, UK, and her colleagues have discovered a particularly odd pulsar called PSR J0901-4046 using observations from the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa.

It rotates at a slower rate than any known active pulsar and sends out a long pulse every 76 seconds.

Read more: A pair of pulsars in a tight embrace have proved Einstein right again

This is a very unusual type of star.