~ Will a Pulsar pass in front of a Giant star? ~

Among the many binary systems known in the universe, there is one of them that will give us a fascinating astronomical spectacle.

MT91 213 & PSR J2032 + 4127

1 - Recreation of the pulsar PSR J2032 + 4127 - Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.

On the one hand we have PSR J2032 +4127 which is a pulsar that emits ray and radio waves, until recently it was believed that it was a young and isolated neutron star. However, its rate of accelerated decline increased extraordinarily by a factor of 2, which led scientists to determine in 2015, that this pulsar is part of a binary system.

2 - Recreation of the binary system. - Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.

But to get a binary system you need two stars or in the case of pulsar (a residue of a massive star that exploded like a supernova).
The massive star that pulls the pulsar is MT91 213. Classified as a Be type star, the companion has fifteen times the mass of the Sun and shines ten thousand times brighter. Be stars produce strong outputs, called stellar winds, and are embedded in large gas and dust disks.

It’s expected by the beginning of 2018. Although there is no exact date, the truth is that many eyes will be monitoring the astronomical event. Although to observe it will be necessary to use very powerful telescopes, so unfortunately it will not be visible to the naked eye.

One of the factors that makes it so special is that having such a long orbital period (estimated to be 25 to 50 years), we haven’t yet been able to see its transit. And with the most recent data it has been determined that it’s very close to it periastron.

3 - Picture taken with Palomar 48-inch Schmidt Telescope. - Credits: NASA / IPAC EXTRAGALACTIC DATABASE

”It is expected therefore that PSR J2032+4127 shows an enhancement of high-energy emission caused by the interaction between the pulsar wind and Be wind/disk around periastron.”
”We also discuss the pulsar wind/Be disk interaction at the periastron passage, and propose the possibility of formation of an accretion disk around the pulsar.”
Q1 - J. Takata et. al.

4 - Recreation of the binary system, periastrón. - Credits: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab.

So, probably in a few days we will have more data on this astronomical phenomenon that involves the close encounter between a pulsar and a massive star. And with the amount of Astronomers and Astrophysicists who are going to be measuring their increase in emissions, very soon we’ll know more about this strange couple, and we can compare it with another known pair (B1259-63 / LS2883).