A 42-light-year X-ray tail links a pulsar to previously 'orphan' gamma rays

AI Summary

Scientists have identified a 42-light-year X-ray tail linked to a pulsar as a source of previously unexplained gamma rays. This discovery, based on observations from the Einstein Probe satellite and LHAASO observatory, advances understanding of cosmic ray origins and propagation.

Understanding the origin, acceleration and propagation of high-energy cosmic rays has been a century-old mystery in astrophysics. Recently, joint observations from China's Einstein Probe (EP) satellite and the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO) showed an extraordinarily long X-ray tail near a pulsar about 4,600 light-years (27 quadrillion miles) from Earth—one that had never before been seen in full. The tail extends about 42 light-years (250 trillion miles) and stretches in the same direction as ultrahigh-energy gamma-ray emission detected by LHAASO, with the two showing a close spatial match.