Located 28,000 light-years from Earth, the globular cluster NGC 6440 is a densely packed conglomeration of stars hiding rapidly spinning pulsars.
An incredibly dense composition isn't the only extreme characteristic of the millisecond pulsars of NGC 6440. This type of neutron star takes its name from the fact that they have rotational periods of less than 30 milliseconds. Some have even been discovered with rotational periods as great as 1.4 milliseconds. This means a millisecond pulsar can rotate between around 2000 to 43,000 times per minute.
Scientists believe these extreme neutron stars get their incredible rotational speeds when neutron stars form in binary systems and begin accreting material from a stellar companion. As this material from the donor falls onto the neutron it also accumulates angular momentum and is ‘spun up.’ The millisecond pulsars NGC 6440G and NGC 6440H in the globular cluster NGC 6440 are thought to have rotational periods of 5.22 milliseconds and 2.85 milliseconds. This means NGC 6440G rotates around 11500 times a minute while NGC 6440H spins 21050 times a minute.
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