So far, astronomers have found at least 18 black widows and nine redbacks within the Milky Way, and additional members of each class have been discovered within the dense globular star clusters that orbit our galaxy.
These animations show artist's impressions of one system, named PSR J1311-3430. Discovered in 2012, J1311 sets the record for the tightest orbit of its class and contains one of the heaviest neutron stars known. The pulsar's featherweight companion, which is only a dozen or so times the mass of Jupiter and just 60 percent of its size, completes an orbit every 93 minutes – less time than it takes to watch most movies. Recent studies allow a range of values extending down to 2 solar masses for the pulsar, still among the highest-known for neutron stars.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344907, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11215/#media_group_344907", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "items": [ { "id": 305295, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467585, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_persp.01094.jpg", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_persp.01094.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305293, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467576, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_persp.01094_web.jpg", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_persp.01094_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 305286, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467580, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305287, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467578, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/frames/1280x720_16x9_60p/Perspective/", "filename": "Perspective", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305288, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467581, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305289, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467579, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305290, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467582, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305292, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467577, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_persp.01094.tif", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_persp.01094.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305294, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467584, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.webmhd.webm", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.webmhd.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 305291, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467583, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_persp.01094-big.tif", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_persp.01094-big.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 as we see it from Earth. The pulsar's gamma-ray emission (magenta) dominates from our perspective because our line of sight passes through dense clouds of ionized gas blown off of the companion star. Most of the time, these clouds are dense enough to either absorb or scatter the pulsar's radio signals (green), preventing their detection. The pulsar's rotation — in reality, 23,000 rpm — has been slowed for clarity.", "width": 3556, "height": 2000, "pixels": 7112000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344908, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11215/#media_group_344908", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Slower version of the above animation.", "items": [ { "id": 305305, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467595, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_perspX.01280.jpg", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_perspX.01280.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305303, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467588, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_perspX.01280_web.jpg", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_perspX.01280_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 305296, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467590, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305297, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467587, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/frames/1280x720_16x9_60p/Perspective_Long/", "filename": "Perspective_Long", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305298, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467591, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305299, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467592, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305300, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467589, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305302, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467586, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_perspX.01280.tif", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_perspX.01280.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305304, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467594, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.webmhd.webm", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_Perspective_Long_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.webmhd.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 305301, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467593, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_perspX.01280-big.tif", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_perspX.01280-big.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Slower version of the above animation.", "width": 3556, "height": 2000, "pixels": 7112000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 344909, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11215/#media_group_344909", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "items": [ { "id": 305315, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467605, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_top.00750.jpg", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_top.00750.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305313, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467597, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_top.00750_web.jpg", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_top.00750_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 305306, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467599, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_ProRes_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305307, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467602, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/frames/1280x720_16x9_60p/TopView/", "filename": "TopView", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305308, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467600, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305309, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467601, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_H264_Good_1280x720_29.97.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305310, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467598, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.mp4", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305312, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467596, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_top.00750.tif", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_top.00750.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 305314, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467604, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.webmhd.webm", "filename": "11215_BW_Pulsar_TopView_MPEG4_1280X720_29.97.webmhd.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. The pulsar actually spins 390 times each second.", "width": 960, "height": 540, "pixels": 518400 } }, { "id": 305311, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 467603, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011215/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_top.00750-big.tif", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_top.00750-big.tif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This view shows J1311 from above its orbital plane, a view not accessible from Earth. Gas blown off the companion star trails along its orbit and diffuses throughout the system but is densest along their orbital plane. From this vantage point, both the radio beam (green) and the gamma-ray emission (magenta) escape the system. 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{ "role": "Writer", "people": [ { "name": "Francis Reddy", "employer": "Syneren Technologies" } ] } ], "missions": [ "Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope" ], "series": [ "Astrophysics Animations" ], "tapes": [ "Fermi Black Widow Pulsar (Produced by: Robert Crippen)" ], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Binary Star", "Earth Science", "Fermi", "Gamma Ray", "HDTV", "Neutron Star", "Pulsar", "Space", "Spectral/Engineering", "Star" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 11216, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11216/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Black Widow Pulsars Consume Their Mates", "description": "Black widow spiders and their Australian cousins, known as redbacks, are notorious for an unsettling tendency to kill and devour their male partners. Astronomers have noted similar behavior among two rare breeds of binary system that contain rapidly spinning neutron stars, also known as pulsars. The essential features of black widow and redback binaries are that they place a normal but very low-mass star in close proximity to a millisecond pulsar, which has disastrous consequences for the star. Black widow systems contain stars that are both physically smaller and of much lower mass than those found in redbacks.So far, astronomers have found at least 18 black widows and nine redbacks within the Milky Way, and additional members of each class have been discovered within the dense globular star clusters that orbit our galaxy. One black widow system, named PSR J1311-3430 and discovered in 2012, sets the record for the tightest orbit of its class and contains one of the heaviest neutron stars known. The pulsar's featherweight companion, which is only a dozen or so times the mass of Jupiter and just 60 percent of its size, completes an orbit every 93 minutes – less time than it takes to watch most movies. The side of the star facing the pulsar is heated to more than 21,000 degrees Fahrenheit (nearly 12,000 C), or more than twice as hot as the sun's surface. Recent studies allow a range of values extending down to 2 solar masses for the pulsar, making it one of the most massive neutron stars known. Watch the video to learn more about this system and its discovery from some of the scientists involved. || ", "release_date": "2014-02-20T11:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:51:11.083946-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 467661, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011200/a011216/Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_pulsarCam.00300.jpg", "filename": "Cruz_deWilde-bwPulsar_pulsarCam.00300.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Learn how astronomers discovered PSR J1311−3430, a record-breaking black widow binary and the first of its kind discovered solely through gamma-ray observations. Greenbank Telescope image credit: NRAO/AUIWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }