SPACE — On February 24, 1968, astronomy graduate student Jocelyn Bell announced that she had discovered the first pulsar. The pulsar was first seen on November 28, 1967.
Initially, he noticed what he called a ‘slight flaw’ in his telescope data. A signal sends out a pulsar every 1.3 seconds. At that time, scientists had predicted the existence of pulsars, which are neutron stars that rotate rapidly and emit narrow beams of light in two opposite directions.
Initially, Jocelyn Bell and her advisor, Anthony Hewish, thought it might be of alien origin. However, they ruled out this suspicion after finding another signal coming from a different part of the sky.
Jocelyn Bell with a chart capturing the moment she discovered the first pulsar. Image: University of Cambridge
Bell and Hewish discovered four pulsars before publishing their findings in February 1968. However, at that time they still did not receive a detailed explanation.
Also read: History today: Astronomers discovered the first pulsar, thought it was an alien
Currently, astronomers have cataloged more than 1,800 pulsars in the universe. Source: Space.com
2024-02-24 16:12:00
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