How Pulsars Work

A pulsar is a type of neutron star formed when a massive star explodes in a supernova.

The core left behind becomes extremely dense and starts spinning very fast. Pulsars have strong

magnetic fields that produce beams of light and radio waves from their poles.

As the pulsar spins, these beams sweep through space. When a beam points toward Earth,

we detect it as a pulse of energy. This makes the pulsar appear to blink on and off,

like a cosmic lighthouse. Some pulsars spin hundreds of times per second, making them some

of the most precise clocks in the universe.