Pulsar : The Flickering Giants
What is a PULSAR... A pulsar is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star or white dwarf that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation . This radiation can be observed only when the beam of emission is pointing toward Earth, and is responsible for the pulsed appearance of emission. Neutron stars are very dense , and have short, regular rotational periods . From Earth, pulsars often look like flickering stars. On and off, on and off, they seem to blink with a regular rhythm. But the light from pulsars does not actually flicker or pulse, and these objects are not actually stars. Pulsars radiate two steady, narrow beams of light in opposite directions. Although the light from the beam is steady, pulsars appear to flicker because they also spin. It's the same reason a lighthouse appears to blink when seen by a sailor on the ocean: As the pulsar rotates, the beam of light may sweep across the Earth, then swing out of view, then swing back around again. To an astron