Astronomers using India’s upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope have discovered five new millisecond pulsars, providing valuable insights into neutron stars and stellar evolution.

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• Scientists at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics identified 5 new millisecond pulsars using the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope near Pune on 10 June 2026.
• The newly discovered pulsars were found inside the ancient globular clusters Messier 69 and Messier 70, among the oldest stellar systems in the Milky Way.
• Two pulsars were detected in Messier 69, while three were identified in Messier 70, expanding knowledge of compact objects within dense star clusters.
• Millisecond pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars that usually gain their extraordinary rotation speeds by accreting matter from a companion star in binary systems.
• One newly identified object, designated M69A, orbits a likely white dwarf companion and completes its orbital cycle within only a few days.
• Globular clusters are tightly bound spherical collections of extremely old stars whose dense environments make them important laboratories for astrophysical research and discoveries.
• This marks the first confirmed pulsar detections in both Messier 69 and Messier 70, adding important observational evidence for studying neutron star evolution.
• The upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope continues strengthening India’s contributions to radio astronomy by enabling high-sensitivity observations of distant cosmic phenomena.