blivet radio
The Radio weblog of Hal Rager

Wednesday, June 12, 2002

:: how jedi are you? :: 9:23:53 PM    comment   trackback []

Chandra Detects First Possible Evidence Of Gravity's Effect On Neutron Star's Radiation "A team led by George Pavlov of Penn State University in University Park observed 1E 1207.4-5209, a neutron star in the center of a supernova remnant about 7,000 light years from Earth. The results were presented on June 6, 2002, at the American Astronomical Society in Albuquerque, N.M. Pavlov's group found two dips, or absorption features, in the spectrum of X-rays from the star. If these dips are due to the absorption of X-rays near the star by helium ions in a strong magnetic field, they indicate that the gravitational field reduces the energies of X-rays escaping from near the surface of a neutron star. "This interpretation is consistent with the data," said Pavlov, "but the features may be a blend of many other features. More precise measurements, preferably with Chandra's grating spectrometer, are needed."" [Science Daily] 9:20:48 PM    comment   trackback []