Cosmic Black Widow | Space Wallpaper

By Space.com Staff
published

Black Widow Pulsar 1920
Spinning 390 times a second, the "black widow" pulsar PSR J1311−3430 periodically swings its radio (green) and gamma-ray (magenta) beams past Earth in this amazing space wallpaper. (Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

Spinning 390 times a second, the "black widow" pulsar PSR J1311−3430 periodically swings its radio (green) and gamma-ray (magenta) beams past Earth in this amazing space wallpaper. The pulsar heats the facing side of its stellar partner to temperatures twice as hot as the sun's surface and slowly evaporates it.

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.