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Music: \"Games Show Sphere 2\" from Killer Tracks

Complete transcript available.

Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.

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The data from NICER also show J17062’s stars are only about 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) apart, less than the distance between Earth and the Moon. Based on the pair’s breakneck orbital period and separation, scientists involved in a new study of the system think the second star is a hydrogen-poor white dwarf.

The researchers were also able to determine that J17062’s stars revolve around each other in a circular orbit, which is common for this type of system. The white dwarf donor star is a “lightweight,” only around 1.5 percent of our Sun’s mass. The pulsar is much heavier, around 1.4 solar masses. The stars orbit a point around 1,900 miles (3,000 km) from the pulsar, almost as if the donor star orbits a stationary neutron star, but NICER can is sensitive enough to detect a slight fluctuation in the neutron star’s X-ray emission due to the tug from the donor star.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326908, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12938/#media_group_326908", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Animation of IGR J17062-6143, a binary system with a pulsar and white dwarf in a close and rapid orbit.", "items": [ { "id": 248704, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 404235, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012938/frame-000818.jpg", "filename": "frame-000818.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Animation of IGR J17062-6143, a binary system with a pulsar and white dwarf in a close and rapid orbit.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 248701, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 404236, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012938/frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/", "filename": "1920x1080_16x9_30p", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "Animation of IGR J17062-6143, a binary system with a pulsar and white dwarf in a close and rapid orbit.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 248702, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 404232, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012938/NICER_Binary_Animation_1080.m4v", "filename": "NICER_Binary_Animation_1080.m4v", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Animation of IGR J17062-6143, a binary system with a pulsar and white dwarf in a close and rapid orbit.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 248703, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 404233, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012938/NICER_Binary_Animation_1080p.mov", "filename": "NICER_Binary_Animation_1080p.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Animation of IGR J17062-6143, a binary system with a pulsar and white dwarf in a close and rapid orbit.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 248705, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 404231, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012938/NICER_Binary_Animation_1080p.webm", "filename": "NICER_Binary_Animation_1080p.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Animation of IGR J17062-6143, a binary system with a pulsar and white dwarf in a close and rapid orbit.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 248700, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 404234, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012938/NICER_Binary_Animation_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov", "filename": "NICER_Binary_Animation_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Animation of IGR J17062-6143, a binary system with a pulsar and white dwarf in a close and rapid orbit.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 326909, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12938/#media_group_326909", "widget": "Basic text", "title": "For More Information", "caption": "", "description": "See [NASA.gov](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/nasa-s-nicer-mission-finds-an-x-ray-pulsar-in-a-record-fast-orbit)", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "NASA Astrophysics" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Science writer", "people": [ { "name": "Jeanette Kazmierczak", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] }, { "role": "Animator", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "USRA" } ] } ], "missions": [ "Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER)" ], "series": [ "Astrophysics Animations", "Astrophysics Features", "Narrated Movies" ], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Hyperwall", "Neutron Star", "Pulsar", "Star", "X-ray" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }