Zombie Star

I find this interesting because it's so extreme. Pulsars are special neutron stars that rotate and emit very powerful energy beams of electromagnetic energy from their poles. They are particularly powerful radio sources.

What's interesting about these kinds of stars is that they are the remnants of an exploding supernova. They are the cores of massive stars that's left from supernovae and no longer using nuclear fusion. This means that they're supposed to be dead, but in fact, they are very active objects.

A pulsar is essentially a ball of crystalline iron and carbon with a cracked surface. A small thimble full of one of these zombies would weigh many tons. Basically, a pulsar is a neutron star that has rotational energy. These rotating stars can spin at very high rates, as much as 38,500 rpm. Some pulsars are so consistent they can rival atomic clocks.

One important fact about pulsars is that they are all over our galaxy. The other fact is that pulsars can have orbiting planets. However, there is no life on any planet orbiting a pulsar. The electromagnetic radiation from one of these things would blast off a planet's atmosphere and wipe out any life that had formed there. They would be worse than the Star War's Death Star.

Some pulsars have taken up stealing material from a companion star. In this case, a pulsar acts as a zombie by eating its companion. The material that it steals adds to its power, making it more powerful. This situation is typical in a binary system in which one star is a red dwarf and its companion is larger than our sun. Neutron stars are essentially the result of supernova, and that requires a star to be at least 8 times the size of our sun. A red dwarf can last for a trillion years, but if its partner is a pulsar, it will be consumed. Just shows you that one must pick ones partner carefully.
Usually, a pulsar that turns into a zombie is typically an X-ray emitting pulsar. In some cases the partner of such a zombie pulsar could be a massive young star. In this case the zombie pulsar is the result of a supernova from the more massive star. These super massive stars live fast and die sooner than their smaller companions, and then they become a zombie and feast on the companion. Occasionally, the other companion will supernova and become a pulsar. Two pulsars orbiting one another are like angry bees. If they collide, the resulting explosion will send out powerful gravity waves across the universe.

One of these zombie pulsars was discovered by the fact that the radio pulse showed a dead spot. This was the result of the companion momentarily blocking the pulsar's beam. Such a star would have its gas blown off by the power of the pulsar's beam and the more gravitationally powerful pulsar would suck in this gas. Essentially the star being eaten would orbit around the pulsar unable to escape being consumed. Bon Appétit!

Thanks for reading.