ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Anomalous X-ray pulsar

Well hello there little one! An anomalous x-ray pulsar is a very interesting and special star that looks and acts different than most other stars we know about. To understand what it is, let's first talk about what a regular pulsar is.

A pulsar is a type of star that spins very quickly and sends out beams of light and energy from its poles. It's kind of like a cosmic lighthouse because the beams of light and energy sweep past Earth like the beam from a lighthouse sweeps past a boat out at sea. So, we see these pulses of light and energy as the star spins, hence the name "pulsar".

Now, an anomalous x-ray pulsar is similar to a regular pulsar in that it spins really fast and sends out beams of energy, but there's one big difference - it sends out x-rays instead of visible light. X-rays are a type of invisible light that can't be seen by the human eye, but we can use special instruments to detect them.

Unlike regular pulsars, anomalous x-ray pulsars don't appear to be connected to a known type of star. They seem to be isolated in space, which means they don't have any neighboring stars nearby. They also emit a different type of radiation, making them particularly important for scientists studying the cosmos.

So, in summary, an anomalous x-ray pulsar is a special type of star that spins really fast and sends out beams of energy, specifically x-ray radiation. It's different from regular pulsars because it seems to be isolated in space and emits a different type of radiation.