Neutron stars join the black hole jet set

This artist's illustration (main graphic) depicts the jet of relativistic particles blasting out of Circinus X-1, the first extended X-ray just associated with a neutron star in a binary system. The Chandra image (inset) shows this jet to the upper right, with possible evidence of counter jets to the lower left. The jet in Circinus X-1 is helping astronomers better understand how neutron stars, and not just black holes, can generate these powerful beams of particles. Credit: Illustration: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss X-ray image: NASA/CXC/U. of Wisc/S. Heinz et al