Content Starts Here
pulsar
Encyclopaedia Search
Pulsar
Celestial source that appears to flash at radio and other wavelengths at regular intervals, ranging from a few seconds to a few thousandths of a second. Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars. They were discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory, Cambridge, England.
Pulsars slow down as they get older, and eventually the flashes fade. Millisecond pulsars (flashing about 1,000 times a second) are thought to be more than a billion years old. A few pulsars, one (estimated to be 1,000 years old) in the Crab nebula and one (estimated to be 11,000 years old) in the constellation Vela, give out flashes of visible light.
© Research Machines plc 2008. All rights reserved. Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines plc.
Advertisement starts
Advertisement ends
Related Links
Mauritius Flag
Red recalls the struggle for independence. Blue stands for the Indian Ocean. Yellow expresses hope for a bright future. Green represents agriculture and vegetation. Effective date: 12 March 1968.
>>
Advertorial
Find out how to buy the things you've always wanted and sell the things you don't on ebay.
Font size
Mail
My account
Help
Community
Print now
Send to a friend
Related articles
Related products
