Why in news
In 1969, two research groups reported an abrupt and brief increase in the rotation rate of a pulsar; this glitch remains to be explained 44 years on; to date, physicists have spotted more than 3,000 pulsars and around 700 such glitches, and are starting to get a sense of why they happen.
What is pulsar
A pulsar is a fascinating celestial object, essentially a cosmic lighthouse of sorts.
A highly magnetized, rotating neutron star.
Neutron stars are incredibly dense stellar remnants formed after massive stars run out of fuel and explode as supernovas.
Their spin can be incredibly fast, with some completing multiple rotations per millisecond.
It emits beams of electromagnetic radiation (like light, radio waves, X-rays, etc.) from its magnetic poles.
These beams sweep across space like a lighthouse beam, creating the "pulsing" effect when they reach Earth.
Imagine the pulsar's magnetic poles aren't aligned with its rotation axis.
As it spins, these beams sweep across space, and if one happens to point towards Earth, we receive a pulse of radiation.
This rotation and alignment create the characteristic regularity of the pulses, ranging from milliseconds to seconds for different pulsars.
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