Pulsar

Pulsars are rotating neutron stars that are observable as sources of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation intensity varies at a regular period, believed to result from the rotation of the star.

Significant pulsars

• The first radio pulsar, CP 1919 (now known as PSR B1919+21), with a pulse period of 1.339 seconds and a pulse width of 0.04 second, was discovered in 1967 (Nature 217:709-713, 1968). A drawing of this pulsar's radio waves was used as the cover of British rock band Joy Division's debut album, Unknown Pleasures.
• The first binary pulsar, PSR B1913+16, confirming general relativity and proving the existence of gravitational waves
• The first millisecond pulsar, PSR B1937+21
• The first X-ray pulsar, Cen X-3
• The first millisecond X-ray pulsar, SAX J1808.4-3658
• The first pulsar with planets, PSR B1257+12
• The first double pulsar binary system, PSR J0737−3039
• The magnetar SGR 1806-20 produced the largest burst of energy in the Galaxy ever experimentally recorded on 27 December 2004
• The pulsar PSR B0950+08 seems to have come from a supernova that occurred in Antlia Pneumatica 1.8 million years ago. The remnant of this supernova may be the nearest besides the Local Bubble, and the supernova would have been as bright as the moon.