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(Homeland) - PSR J1748−2446ad is located approximately 18,000 light-years away from Earth and is currently the fastest-spinning celestial body known in the universe.
PSR J1748−2446ad currently holds the title for the fastest-spinning celestial body known in the universe. Its rotational speed at the equator is about 24% of the speed of light, approximately 70,000 km per second. This planet completes one rotation in just 0.0014 seconds, allowing it to spin 716 times in one second, equivalent to around 42,000 rotations in a minute. In comparison, Earth rotates much slower, taking about 24 hours to complete one rotation.
PSR J1748−2446ad is a rapidly rotating neutron star, also known as a pulsar, with a frequency of 716 Hz or 716 rotations per second. This pulsar was discovered by Jason W. T. Hessels of McGill University on November 10, 2004, and confirmed on January 8, 2005.
PSR J1748−2446ad is a high-speed rotating neutron star, also referred to as a pulsar, emitting periodic radio signals. It was once speculated to be signals from an extraterrestrial civilization.
Its incredible rotation speed is attributed to its formation through the collapse of matter in the core of a massive star after a supernova explosion. Due to the conservation of angular momentum, this contraction process causes the neutron star's rotation speed to increase dramatically.
Research suggests that the fastest-spinning neutron star in the universe could rotate at a speed of 1,200 revolutions per second, but this is purely theoretical, and no neutron star with such a rapid rotation has been observed. Linear velocity cannot exceed the speed of light, so the theoretical maximum rotation speed of a neutron star with a diameter of 30 km cannot surpass 3,180 revolutions per second.
PSR J1748–2446ad is a star with a surface that is not only solid but also harder than diamond. Its density is over 50 trillion times that of lead, and its magnetic field is a thousand billion times stronger than our Sun's.
According to reports, PSR J1748−2446ad is approximately 18,000 light-years away from Earth, and despite its diameter being only around 30 km, it has double the mass of our Sun.
With a mass equivalent to about two Suns concentrated in a block with a diameter of around 30 km, PSR J1748−2446ad not only has an extremely high material density of 100 million tons per cubic centimeter but also exerts an enormous gravitational force on its surface, creating an extremely flat surface. If there were a 'mountain' on the neutron star, this 'mountain' or protrusion would be less than a millimeter high.
PSR J1748−2446ad is part of a cluster of stars called Terzan 5, located about 18,000 light-years away from Earth in the Sagittarius constellation. It is a binary system and regularly undergoes eclipses with an eclipse intensity of approximately 40%.
The reason why objects with such high rotation speeds do not break apart is because these materials are bound together by a strong gravitational field. If Earth were rotating much faster, it would certainly have fragmented into four or five parts long ago.
Observations reveal that PSR J1748−2446ad is part of a binary star system, and its companion star is likely a significantly less massive star than the Sun but with a radius 5-6 times that of the Sun, gradually being engulfed by this neutron star. If a massive star is swallowed by a neutron star, and as the mass increases, the gravitational force intensifies, the neutron star may evolve into a black hole.
Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars emitting high-intensity radiation, while remnants of dead stars are remnants with extremely strong magnetic fields. All types of neutron stars form when massive stars reach the end of their lifecycle and run out of nuclear fusion fuel, leaving the initial star unable to resist the gravitational collapse. This leads to a massive supernova explosion, leaving behind the remnants of the universe - a neutron star with a dense matter density equivalent to about 3.9 trillion kg in a coffee spoon's volume.
Pulsars were first discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish of the University of Cambridge in 1967 through radio wave emissions, later followed by X-ray and gamma-ray pulsars. Antony Hewish was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1974 for this achievement. They detected peculiar radio waves, including regular oscillations with cycles ranging from a few thousand to a few seconds. Their initial hypothesis was that these waves came from extraterrestrial civilizations. Today, the scientific community tends to accept the hypothesis that explains the regularity of radio waves as being emitted by a very small, rapidly rotating, highly dense neutron star.
Pulsars are distant, rapidly spinning neutron stars that emit electromagnetic radiation in a specific direction, much like a rotating lighthouse beam sweeping across the coastline. Although the first pulsar was discovered in 1967, scientists have long wondered why these stars can emit pulses and what causes pulsars to intermittently stop emitting pulses.
References: Zhihu; Astronomy; Quora
