Chandra Release - January 7, 2013

Visual Description: Vela Pulsar Jet

The timelapse is a series of Chandra X-ray Observatory images of the Vela Pulsar, which is a spinning neutron star.  In the image, the Vela Pulsar nebula appears as a bright blue textured crescent against a dark blue background, with the pulsar itself as a bright white dot in the middle. This movie from Chandra shows a fast moving thin-looking jet of particles produced by the rapidly rotating neutron star, and may provide new insight into the nature of some of the densest matter in the universe.  The Vela pulsar is about 1,000 light years from Earth, spans about 12 miles in diameter, and makes over 11 complete rotations every second, faster than a helicopter rotor. As the pulsar whips around, it spews out a jet of charged particles that race out along the pulsar's rotation axis at about 70% of the speed of light.  The motion of the jet resembles a fire hose that is slightly out of control.