Overview
- The Astrophysical Journal Letters paper measures an equatorial diameter about 38% larger than the polar diameter, yielding an extreme tidal elongation.
- Infrared spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope indicate an atmosphere dominated by helium and molecular carbon with little to no hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen.
- PSR J2322-2650b orbits its pulsar at roughly one million kilometers with an orbital period near eight hours, a regime of severe tidal forces and particle bombardment.
- The observations deliver the first atmospheric characterization of a body orbiting a pulsar, enabled by JWST’s infrared capabilities.
- The team plans searches for similar systems to determine whether this object is an actively stripped stellar remnant or a representative of a new, stable population.