pulsar

[ puhl-sahr ]

noun

1. Astronomy. one of several hundred known celestial objects, generally believed to be rapidly rotating neutron stars, that emit pulses of radiation, especially radio waves, with a high degree of regularity.

pulsar

/ ˈpʌlˌsɑː /

noun

1. any of a number of very small extremely dense objects first observed in 1967, which rotate very rapidly and emit very regular pulses of polarized radiation, esp radio waves. They are thought to be neutron stars formed following supernova explosions

pulsar

/ pŭl′sär′ /

1. A rapidly spinning neutron star that emits radiation, usually radio waves, in narrow beams focused by the star's powerful magnetic field and streaming outward from its magnetic poles. Because the pulsar's magnetic poles do not align with the poles of its rotational axis, the beams of radiation sweep around like the beacon of a lighthouse and are thus observed on Earth as short, regular pulses, with periods anywhere between 1 millisecond and 4 seconds.

pulsar

1. A rapidly rotating neutron star . The radiation from such a star appears to come in a series of regular pulses (one per revolution), which explains the name.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pulsar¹

1965–70; puls(ating st)ar, on the model of quasar

Word History and Origins

Origin of pulsar¹

C20: from puls ( ating st ) ar, on the model of quasar

Example Sentences

The Crab Nebula features a neutron star at its center that has formed into a 12-mile-wide pulsar pinwheeling electromagnetic radiation across the cosmos.

From Science Daily

Their new method of detection is based on analyzing pulsars, neutron stars that emit radio waves at highly regular intervals.

From Science Daily

Researchers in Manchester and Germany found it orbiting a millisecond pulsar 40,000 light years away.

From BBC

Using the clock-like ticks from the millisecond pulsar they showed that the massive object lies in the so-called black hole mass gap.

From Science Daily

It is the most accurate image ever produced of the Vela pulsar, a fast-spinning neutron star that projects a beam of gamma rays into the sky like a lighthouse at night.

From Science Daily