pulsar

noun

pul·​sar ˈpəl-ˌsär 

: a celestial source of pulsating electromagnetic radiation (such as radio waves) characterized by a short relatively constant interval (such as .033 second) between pulses that is held to be a rotating neutron star

Examples of pulsar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1967, Wheeler attended a discussion of the astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell’s recent discovery of pulsars—celestial objects that flash out radiation. —Rivka Galchen, The New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2024

The telescope has found everything from a trio of millisecond pulsars from Messier 62 to the most massive neutron star yet discovered, PSR J0740+6620. —Popular Science, 7 Mar. 2024

Neutron stars are best known for powering pulsars, rapidly repeating bursts of radiation driven by the fact that these massive objects can complete a rotation in a handful of milliseconds. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 11 Oct. 2023

But not always: Sometimes, the pulsar’s rate of rotation increases abruptly, causing a glitch. —Matthew Smith, Ars Technica, 8 July 2023

The much dimmer pulsar does still give off radio waves. —Elizabeth Rayne, Ars Technica, 6 Oct. 2023

The crab pulsar visible by powerful telescopes today is a neutron star that sits at the center of this nebula. —Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 10 Jan. 2024

Its whirling magnetic fields sweep up matter and blast it outward in two beams, creating a pulsar. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 10 Nov. 2023

In particular, Graber and other scientists are hoping to find clues to one of the biggest mysteries, called pulsar glitches. —Matthew Smith, Ars Technica, 8 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

puls(ating) + -ar (in quasar)

Note: The coinage was apparently made by the astronomers Jocelyn Bell Burnell (born 1943 in Northern Ireland) and Antony Hewish (born 1924 in England), who discovered the objects in November, 1967. The Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, cites the following from the Daily Telegraph (March 5, 1968, p. 21): "The name Pulsar (Pulsating Star) is likely to be given to it … Dr. A. Hewish … told me yesterday: '…I am sure that today every radio telescope is looking at the Pulsars.'" The word pulsar was not used in the first formal report of the discovery (A. Hewish, S.J. Bell, et al., "Observation of a Rapidly Pulsating Radio Source," Nature, vol. 217, February 24, 1968, pp. 709-13).

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above