PULSAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does pulsar mean? 

• PULSAR (noun)
  The noun PULSAR has 1 sense:

1. a degenerate neutron star; small and extremely dense; rotates very fast and emits regular pulses of polarized radiation

  Familiarity information: PULSAR used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PULSAR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A degenerate neutron star; small and extremely dense; rotates very fast and emits regular pulses of polarized radiation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Hypernyms ("pulsar" is a kind of...):

neutron star (a star that has collapsed under its own gravity; it is composed of neutrons)

 Context examples 

The brightest pulsar is called NGC 5907 ULX.

(NuSTAR Helps Find Universe's Brightest Pulsars, NASA)

Pulsar timing arrays are sensitive to gravitational wave signals from supermassive black holes that are spiraling toward each other and will not combine for millions of years.

(Listening for Gravitational Waves Using Pulsars, NASA)

The observatory's high-energy X-ray eyes were able to peer into a particular site of powerful gamma rays and confirm the source: A spinning, dead star called a pulsar.

(Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays, NASA)

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has discovered a faint but sprawling glow of high-energy light around a nearby pulsar.

(NASA’s Fermi Mission Links Nearby Pulsar’s Gamma-ray ‘Halo’ to Antimatter Puzzle, NASA)

However, they may be detectable with radio observations of pulsars, as well as future space observatories, such as the European Space Agency's Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), which will detect black holes up to one million solar masses.

(Three Black Holes on Collision Course, NASA)

The leading theory is that these pulsars have strong, complex magnetic fields closer to their surfaces.

(NuSTAR Helps Find Universe's Brightest Pulsars, NASA)

By contrast, in the smaller Sombrero Galaxy, black holes mergers typically take about 160 million years, offering more opportunities for pulsar timing arrays to detect gravitational waves from them.

(Listening for Gravitational Waves Using Pulsars, NASA)

Geminga (pronounced geh-MING-ga), discovered in 1972 by NASA’s Small Astronomy Satellite 2, is among the brightest pulsars in gamma rays.

(NASA’s Fermi Mission Links Nearby Pulsar’s Gamma-ray ‘Halo’ to Antimatter Puzzle, NASA)

These data led to the discovery of PSR J1640-4631, a pulsar spinning five times per second — and the ultimate power source of both the high-energy X-rays and gamma rays.

(Pulse of a Dead Star Powers Intense Gamma Rays, NASA)

This pulsar is 50 million light years away, which means its light dates back to a time before humans roamed Earth.

(NuSTAR Helps Find Universe's Brightest Pulsars, NASA)