Planet of the Pulsar Grave

PSR B1257+12 B Once, its sun exploded in a supernova, collapsing into

a pulsar: a city-sized corpse spinning hundreds of times per second, blasting space with

lethal radiation. Out of the debris and chaos that followed, this planet either survived the blast

or re-formed from the wreckage, settling into a tight, uneasy orbit around

a stellar grave. Here, there is no sunrise—only rhythmic beams of radiation sweeping

the sky like cosmic lighthouse flashes. The surface, if it still resembles rock at all,

is relentlessly scoured by particle winds and X-rays powerful enough to strip atmospheres

and sterilize matter. Any trace of oceans, air, or life would have been erased long