A newly released composite image provides a detailed look at the Lighthouse nebula, highlighting a pulsar—a rapidly rotating neutron star characterized by an intense magnetic field. The visual data combines purple X-ray observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, blue X-ray data from the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), and green radio emissions recorded by the Australia Compact Telescope Array.

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Published on July 9, 2026, in the Astrophysical Journal, the study marks the first instance of scientists using IXPE to perform direct measurements of a pulsar's magnetic fields. These findings offer researchers a deeper understanding of the physical properties governing some of the most extreme environments in space.

Source: NASA