Black widow system, illustration. This is the black widow system PSR J1311-3430 discovered in 2012. Black widow systems consist of a pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star, orbited by a companion star. Beams of gamma (magenta) and radio (green) radiation are emitted along the magnetic axis of the pulsar. When the radiation hits the companion it heats it, evaporating some of the companion's surface. The name black widow is applied because eventually the companion will be destroyed by the pulsar. PSR J1311-3430 has the tightest orbit of any black widow system yet found, with the companions star orbiting the pulsar every 93 minutes.