Astronomers Discover Rare Pulsar, Testing Einstein's Theory

Imagine tiny, spinning city-sized objects called pulsars that send out radio beams like cosmic lighthouses.

Scientists have found a new one in a crowded group of old stars called M80.

This pulsar spins super fast and has a partner it orbits in a stretched-out path, like a lopsided oval instead of a circle.

This unusual shape is interesting because it allows scientists to test Einstein's ideas about gravity, seeing how the pulsar's orbit changes over time.

The pulsar and its partner have a combined mass about 1.67 times the sun's mass, and its behavior suggests unusual events that happened in the past.

Scientists will continue to study this system to learn more.