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Pulsar

noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A rotating neutron star that emits radio pulses periodically.

    "Rapidly rotating dead stars, pulsars are so named because as they spin, they release beams of electromagnetic radiation across space that appear to pulse like celestial lighthouses. But a pulsar called PSR J1023+0038, located about 4,500 light-years away from Earth in the Sextans constellation, is even more unusual in that some of the pulses are brighter than others, almost like it’s switching between different modes."

  2. 2
    a degenerate neutron star; small and extremely dense; rotates very fast and emits regular pulses of polarized radiation wordnet

Etymology

Blend of pulsating + (radio) star, patterned after quasar. Coined by British astronomers Antony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell in 1968, and first used in print in The Daily Telegraph. By surface analysis, pulse + -ar

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