Neutron-star physics
The Pulsar Mechanism
How a pulsar pulses: a rapidly rotating, strongly magnetised neutron star beams radiation from its magnetic poles, and if a beam sweeps across the Earth we see a regular pulse once per rotation, like a lighthouse. The precise physics of how the beam is generated in the star's magnetosphere is still not fully understood.
Highlights
- ›A magnetised, spinning neutron star as a cosmic lighthouse
Classes, physics & objects
Across compact objects
Knowledge connections
- Associated withNeutron Star
- Associated withPulsar
- Associated withThe Crab Pulsar
- Associated withPulsar
- Associated withThe Crab Pulsar
- Associated withPSR B1919+21
Sources
The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.
- NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.
Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.