Pulsars are fascinating astronomical objects. They are the remnants from the death of stars, made from neutron matter (and possibly quark matter!), these stars spin anywhere from once per second to more than 1,000 times per second and emit beamed radio emission!

For more technical detail about pulsars, check out these links:

• Ch. 6 of Essential Radio Astronomy
• Pulsars – Perfect Clocks for Physics
• Extraordinary Physics with Millisecond Pulsars

Pulsar Timing

Pulsar timing is the process of constructing a model for when a pulsar’s next pulse of radiation will arrive at Earth. This process allows us to construct an extremely precise model of the pulsar’s environment. You can find more information about pulsar timing and how to do it below:

• Ch. 6 Sec. 3 of Essential Radio Astronomy
• Our Lecture on Timing
• Our Lecture on Timing in Practice

Image credit: ESO/L. Calçada