At the heart of the Milky Way are 10 strange dead stars, scientists say. Also known as "neutron stars", these weird bodies are also spinning, which means they are pulsars. Scientists say that this extremely odd globular cluster is located 18,000 light-years from Earth and might take on weird forms as a result of being extremely dense. These include "spider pulsars" that can cast plasma webs and destroy stars. There is also a speed demon vampire star that is eating up other stars in the vicinity.&nbsp;

These pulsars have been uncovered in the globular cluster Terzan 5 where hundreds of thousands of different stars that are 12 billion to 4.5 billion years old can be found. Terzan 5 is one of the most crowded regions in the Milky Way, with at least 39 known pulsars already swarming it.&nbsp;

"It's very unusual to find exotic new pulsars," Scott Ransom, a scientist with the US National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) said in a statement. "But what’s really exciting is the wide variety of such weirdos in a single cluster."

Using the Green Bank Telescope and the MeerKAT Telescope, Ransom and the other scientists tracked the location of the neutron stars and the timing of their rotations. Two of these neutron stars are part of a rare double neutron-star binary. To put the rarity in context, around 3,600 pulsars have been discovered in the Milky Way till now of which only 20 have been double neutron-star binaries.&nbsp;

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<h2>Cosmic vampire and spider pulsars&nbsp;</h2>

When the above phenomenon happens, one of the neutron stars starts behaving like a vampire, pulling material from the other. This matter makes the neutron star spin faster triggering the formation of a "millisecond pulsar" which can spin hundreds of times per second. The latest pair appears to spin faster than 716 rotations per second, likely setting a new record.&nbsp;

Three new rare spider pulsars have also been seen in the region. Classified as "Redbacks" or "Black Widows," they cast a high-energy radiation"web" on stars that come too close. Redback spider pulsars are those that prey on companion stars with masses between 10 per cent and 50 per cent of the Sun's mass. Meanwhile, Black Widow spider pulsars are those that prey on smaller stars with less than five&nbsp;per cent of the Sun's mass.&nbsp;

At the heart of the Milky Way are 10 strange dead stars, scientists say. Also known as "neutron stars", these weird bodies are also spinning, which means they are pulsars.

At the heart of the Milky Way are 10 strange dead stars, scientists say. Also known as "neutron stars", these weird bodies are also spinning, which means they are pulsars. Scientists say that this extremely odd globular cluster is located 18,000 light-years from Earth and might take on weird forms as a result of being extremely dense. These include "spider pulsars" that can cast plasma webs and destroy stars. There is also a speed demon vampire star that is eating up other stars in the vicinity. These pulsars have been uncovered in the globular cluster Terzan 5 where hundreds of thousands of different stars that are 12 billion to 4.5 billion years old can be found. Terzan 5 is one of the most crowded regions in the Milky Way, with at least 39 known pulsars already swarming it. "It's very unusual to find exotic new pulsars," Scott Ransom, a scientist with the US National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) said in a statement. "But what’s really exciting is the wide variety of such weirdos in a single cluster." Using the Green Bank Telescope and the MeerKAT Telescope, Ransom and the other scientists tracked the location of the neutron stars and the timing of their rotations. Two of these neutron stars are part of a rare double neutron-star binary. To put the rarity in context, around 3,600 pulsars have been discovered in the Milky Way till now of which only 20 have been double neutron-star binaries. Also Read: NASA warns 3 asteroids hurtling towards Earth will come closest on THIS day Cosmic vampire and spider pulsars When the above phenomenon happens, one of the neutron stars starts behaving like a vampire, pulling material from the other. This matter makes the neutron star spin faster triggering the formation of a "millisecond pulsar" which can spin hundreds of times per second. The latest pair appears to spin faster than 716 rotations per second, likely setting a new record. Three new rare spider pulsars have also been seen in the region. Classified as "Redbacks" or "Black Widows," they cast a high-energy radiation"web" on stars that come too close. Redback spider pulsars are those that prey on companion stars with masses between 10 per cent and 50 per cent of the Sun's mass. Meanwhile, Black Widow spider pulsars are those that prey on smaller stars with less than five per cent of the Sun's mass.

Demon vampire star and spider pulsars among 10 dead stars discovered at heart of Milky Way

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Demon vampire star and spider pulsars among 10 dead stars discovered at heart of Milky Way