Chandra X-ray & ESO Optical Images of PSR J0108-1431
The X-ray image is from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory (purple) and the optical image is from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (red, green and blue). The Chandra source in the center of the image is the ancient pulsar PSR J0108-1431 (J0108 for short), located only 770 light years from us. The elongated object immediately to its upper right is a background galaxy that is unrelated to the pulsar. Since J0108 is located a long way from the plane of our galaxy, many distant galaxies are visible in the larger-scale optical image.
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Penn State/G.Pavlov et al.; Optical: ESO/VLT/UCL/R.Mignani et al.)

Illustration of Pulsar J0108-1431
This artist's impression shows what the pulsar J0108 might look like if viewed up close. Radiation from particles spiraling around magnetic fields is shown along with heated areas around the neutron star's magnetic poles. Both of these effects are expected to generate X-ray emission. Most of the surface of the neutron star is expected to be too cool to produce X-rays, but it should produce optical and ultraviolet radiation. Thus, multiwavelength observations are important for providing a complete picture of these exotic objects.
(Credit: NASA/CXC/M.Weiss.)