{"id":544269,"date":"2026-09-19T04:02:53","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/missions\/xrism\/xrism-sees-pulsar-gathering-companions-wind\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T04:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:02:53","slug":"nasa-jaxa-xrism-mission-sees-pulsar-gathering-companions-wind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=544269","title":{"rendered":"NASA-JAXA XRISM Mission Sees Pulsar Gathering Companion\u2019s \u2018Wind\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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5 min read<\/p>\n

NASA-JAXA XRISM Mission Sees Pulsar Gathering Companion\u2019s \u2018Wind\u2019<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Using data from the Japan-led XRISM (X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission) observatory, astronomers have directly observed a giant star\u2019s outflow, called a stellar wind, being captured by its compact companion and providing the power source for strong X-ray flares. The research is part of NASA\u2019s exploration of the extreme universe to better understand how the cosmos works.
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\u201cWe\u2019ve never before seen clear indications of wind plasma falling onto a compact object,\u201d said Roi Rahin, a researcher at UMBC<\/a> (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) and NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a> in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cWe can now test our understanding of these processes in much greater detail.\u201d
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A paper<\/a> describing the findings published Friday in the journal Science Advances.
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The target system is BP Crucis, a high-mass X-ray binary located about 13,000 light-years away in the southern constellation Crux. The primary star, known as Wray 977, is a blue hypergiant about 40 times the Sun\u2019s mass and 60 times its size. It\u2019s so big, hot, and luminous that ionized gas constantly streams away from it, a phenomenon astronomers call a stellar wind.<\/p>\n

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