Research demonstrates Thailand’s expanding capabilities in radio astronomy
PUBLISHED : 25 Sep 2025 at 15:54
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The newly discovered black widow pulsar designated PSR J1544–2555. (Photo: National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand)
Two Thai astronomers have helped discover a new black widow pulsar designated PSR J1544–2555, contributing to international research that could enhance understanding of binary star systems and pulsar evolution.
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) announced that researchers Tinn Thongmeearkom and Adipol Phosrisom participated in the discovery, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on Sept 16, 2025.
Tinn Thongmeearkom. (Photo: NARIT)
Adipol Phosrisom. (Photo: NARIT)
The newly identified pulsar has a rotation period of just 2.4 milliseconds and an orbital period of 2.7 hours, making it an exceptionally fast-spinning neutron star.
Black widow pulsars explained
Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars formed when massive stars collapse at the end of their lives. They emit powerful magnetic fields and radio signals resembling lighthouse beams.
Black widow pulsars are millisecond pulsars in binary systems where the pulsar either absorbs material from or strips away its companion star’s mass, similar to how black widow spiders consume their mates. These systems feature companion stars with less than 10% of the Sun’s mass.
Only about 50 black widow pulsars have been discovered, making them crucial for understanding high-energy physics, binary star systems and pulsar evolution.
International collaboration
The discovery emerged from the Trapum (Transients and Pulsars with MeerKAT) project, an international collaboration using the MeerKAT radio telescope array in South Africa. The facility comprises 64 radio dishes spread across more than 8 kilometres in the South African desert.
Mr Tin said the multi-stage detection process began with identifying potential ‘spider pulsar’ candidates using gamma-ray positions from NASA’s Fermi space telescope.
The team then observed characteristic light variations using the Ultracam instrument at the European Southern Observatory’s New Technology Telescope in northern Chile, before confirming the pulsar using MeerKAT radio observations.
Thailand’s growing role
The research demonstrates Thailand’s expanding capabilities in radio astronomy. The country has established the Thai National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Doi Saket, Chiang Mai, featuring 40-metre and 13-metre radio telescopes.
Thailand has also connected its radio observatory to leading international telescope networks in Germany, China and Japan, positioning the country for future astronomical discoveries.
The multi-wavelength approach combining radio, optical and gamma-ray observations proved essential for identifying new spider pulsars and developing comprehensive models of these exotic stellar systems.