Questions tagged [pulsar]
Questions regarding neutron stars which emit regular pulses of electromagnetic radiation.
83
questions
4
votes
2
answers
803
views
How do I make a custom pulsar map?
I'm looking to make a custom pulsar map like the one on the Voyager Records, but for an arbitrary location within the Milky Way Galaxy. I'm not even sure where to begin.
1
vote
3
answers
414
views
How much mass does our sun need for exploding like supernova?
Beside that, is that possible our sun became pulsar? And if not (and i know likely) but how much more mass does it need to become one ?
1
vote
1
answer
600
views
Why are the spherical and cartesian galactic coordinates in the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue different?
I am trying to relate Galactic Latitude (b) and Longitude (l) (spherical coordinates) to galactic cartesian x,y,z coordinates in the ATNF pulsar catalog.
This query shows some sample data with ...
6
votes
2
answers
317
views
Why do pulsars turn "off" from rotation?
I was looking at the Pulsar wikipedia article
and I came across an interesting aspect that said pulsars turn off from rotation:
When a pulsar's spin period slows down sufficiently, the radio pulsar ...
4
votes
1
answer
593
views
Could pulsar navigation replace GPS
as a follow-up to my previous question I found out that the Voyager Golden record uses a star map of pulsars to precisely show where our solar system is...
Is it possible/feasible to base a ...
1
vote
1
answer
216
views
Could a pulsar in orbit around a black hole feed the black hole with its radiation?
Could the black hole consume the radiation? If so, could the pulsar radiation absorbed by the black hole make it grow steadily more massive over the course of billions or trillions of years?
2
votes
1
answer
228
views
What does a pulsar look like if viewed from above?
Have we ever seen a pulsar directly from above or below it's spin axis?
I am wondering if a pulsar seen from this angle would appear to be constantly spinning or if it would just appear like a normal ...
5
votes
2
answers
278
views
Rule of Exception in All Nearest Objects
I once heard of a strange phenomenon, but now cannot find anything about it on the Internet. I might be looking for the wrong keywords or misremember some relevant aspect. So maybe someone here can ...
3
votes
1
answer
116
views
Could a closely orbiting pulsar be used to study a black hole?
If we were to locate a pulsar in a close elliptical orbit around a black hole, could this reveal significant information about the black hole (e.g. time dilation / structure)? Could this even tell us ...
3
votes
2
answers
480
views
How to find period of a pulsar from a given time sampled voltage data?
I've a data file with 2 columns, each containing time sampled voltage output (a sequence of real numbers) from a radio telescope, so there is a pair of telescope which are measuring the signal here. ...
17
votes
4
answers
738
views
Does the observed period of a pulsar change with the time of year?
Over in the Physics SE a question was posted asking about the difference in the time dilation of the Earth between perihelion and aphelion:
Does Earth experience any significant, measurable time ...
5
votes
1
answer
257
views
Is there a significant population of neutron stars outside the galactic plane?
Pulsar kicks originating from supernovae can impart neutron stars with speeds of 100-500 km/s, often at or close to the escape velocity of the Milky Way. Even if a pulsar fails to escape the galaxy, ...
2
votes
1
answer
283
views
Are there radio white dwarfs?
We have discovered about 2500 radio pulsars. Part of them show pulsations in other bands like X-ray and gamma ray. The radiation mechanism remains unclear now.
I wonder whether there are radio ...
2
votes
0
answers
95
views
Can we determine where the north and south magnetic poles are on stars and black holes?
The question is related to this about Are there collected data about the direction of rotation of black holes and the direction of the magnetic field?. Perhaps it is observable for pulsars?
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Could human life thrive on a planet in a pulsar star system?
Aleksander Wolszczan of Pennsylvania State University found three planets circling a pulsar called PSR B1257+12.Two of the planets were the size of Earth.The pulsar observed by Spitzer, named 4U 0142+...
21
votes
4
answers
14k
views
How Would a Neutron Star Actually Appear?
Having seen many pictures produced by artists of neutron stars and planets that orbit some of them, I was wondering how a pulsar would appear to a human being, in visible light (assuming the intense ...
6
votes
1
answer
305
views
How to tell a pulsar is rotation-powered or accretion-powered?
We need to calculate P/Pdot?
A pulsar may switch between theses two states.
For a rotation powered pulsar, it can pulse and, the pulsed Lx can be much larger than the luminosity given by its ...
10
votes
2
answers
997
views
Why are the magnetic poles of a pulsar so far off the rotational axis, yet stable?
My understanding is that a pulsar is a neutron star whose magnetic poles don't coincide with the rotational poles and whose magnetic poles sweep through Earth (allowing us to hear radio noise).
If we ...
1
vote
1
answer
266
views
Why do some neutron stars become pulsars? [duplicate]
I suspect this may be an open problem in astronomy, but I have to ask anyway.
There doesn't seem to be any large-scale difference in the formation of pulsars from the formation of "normal" neutron ...
5
votes
1
answer
524
views
which pulsar has the longest spin period so far?
Vela X-1 has a 283s spin period, while this one may have a 2.7hr spin period.
However neither of them is included in ATNF catalog.
They are not included in $p-\dot{p}$ diagram either. The longest ...
4
votes
2
answers
769
views
Pulsars: How do astronomers measure minute changes in period (~picoseconds per year)?
I've been to some talks that mention how stable the period of a millisecond pulsar is over long periods of time. Recently, it was mentioned that astronomers have calculated the change in period over ...
4
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Hulse Taylor Binary Pulsar - How is "Cumulative Periastron Time shift" calculated?
Following on from a previous question about the interesting Hulse Taylor Binary Pulsar.
BACKGROUD
Weisberg & Taylor, 2004 present a graph showing the change in "Cumulative Periastron Time Shift" ...
4
votes
1
answer
310
views
Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar - what is the rate of mass/energy loss from the source?
Following on from an earlier question about the very interesting Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar. The high-frequency (radio) beam from the spinning pulsar sweeps across Earth about 17 times per second. ...
2
votes
1
answer
198
views
Birth and Evolution of Millisecond Pulsars
How are millisecond pulsars formed, and what is the evolutionary track of a millisecond pulsar?
5
votes
1
answer
279
views
How did the Hulse-Taylor Pulsar Provide Confirming Evidence of General Relativity?
What measurements and observations of the Hulse-Taylor Pulsar agreed precisely with the predictions of general relativity, and how did these measurements support the theory?
3
votes
2
answers
144
views
Pulsars with accreting disk in binary system
Following this line, I am wondering about the following question.
Accreting pulsars in binary systems are usually thought to accrete from a prograde disk, so increasing their spin in the process.
...
5
votes
1
answer
780
views
Does Doppler shift affect apparent pulsar frequency?
We know that redshift and blueshift is the result of the frequency of light waves reflected or emitted by an object lengthening or shortening due to the relative velocity of the observer moving away ...
1
vote
1
answer
144
views
traveling past the speed of light [closed]
According to the theory of relativity (If I understand correctly), nothing is supposed to be able to travel faster then the speed of light. I believe, to my limited knowledge and grasp of the concept, ...
5
votes
1
answer
229
views
Brightest Radio Source In the Universe
I would have assumed that the brightest radio source in the Universe is a quasar of some kind (perhaps 3C 273) given that the average pulsar has luminosity of $~10^{40} \text{Watts}$ and this is the ...
11
votes
1
answer
302
views
Crab Nebula Time Period
I've learned that the time period for a rotating neutron star, i.e., a pulsar is very accurate and can be used as an interstellar clock. But according to Walter Lewin's 8.01 Lec 19 on classical ...
12
votes
1
answer
475
views
What is the significance of the discovery of a pulsar flipping between radio and x-ray emissions?
This morning on the radio I heard about the discovery of a pulsar that, due to its proximity to a companion star, was flipping between a state where it emitted radio waves and one where it emitted x-...
15
votes
2
answers
7k
views
What causes a neutron star to become a pulsar?
Leading on from this pulsar question, what criteria/processes make neutron stars become pulsars, do all neutron stars become pulsars?
28
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What causes a star to become a pulsar?
What processes does a star undergo to become a pulsar? Does it take a very specific star with a certain set of qualities such as "Just the right mass, diameter, and composition," or is it a freak ...