GMRT Discovers Five New Pulsars in Ancient Star Clusters

On 10 June 2026, astronomers at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics in Pune discovered five new millisecond pulsars using India’s upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope. The pulsars were detected in the globular clusters Messier 69 and Messier 70, which are among the oldest and most densely packed stellar systems in the Milky Way.

Millisecond Pulsars

Millisecond pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars with spin periods of a few milliseconds. They usually form in binary systems, where matter from a companion star transfers angular momentum to the neutron star and increases its rotation rate.

Globular Clusters

Globular clusters are spherical collections of stars bound by gravity. They contain very old stars and are found in the halo of galaxies, including the Milky Way. Messier 69 and Messier 70 are two such clusters in the constellation Sagittarius.

Discovery Details

Two of the newly found pulsars were detected in Messier 69 and three in Messier 70. One pulsar, named M69A, has a close orbit with a companion star that is likely a white dwarf, and it completes one orbit every few days.

Important Facts for Exams

• The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope is located near Pune in Maharashtra.
• The upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope is often written as uGMRT.
• Messier 69 and Messier 70 are part of the Messier catalogue of deep-sky objects.
• Millisecond pulsars are important tools for studying stellar evolution and dense star systems.

Scientific Context

This is the first detection of pulsars in Messier 69 and Messier 70. The discovery adds to the known population of pulsars in globular clusters and provides data for the study of compact binaries and neutron star evolution.