Mysterious ‘black widow’ pulsar found just 3,000 light years from Earth

If confirmed, newly discovered system would be ‘black widow’ binary with shortest orbital period yet

Black widow binary consists of a rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar, that is circling and slowly consuming a smaller companion star (Nasa)

Astronomers have observed what appears to be a rare stellar oddity known as a “black widow binary” just about 3,000 light-years away from Earth.

So far, scientists have discovered about two dozen black widow binaries in the Milky Way galaxy, with the newest one named ZTF J1406+1222.

These stellar formations consist of a rapidly spinning neutron star (pulsar) – the core remnant of a collapsed massive star – consuming a smaller companion star.