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

The final confirmation might need to wait until pulsar timing arrays become sensitive enough to detect the gravitational waves coming from PG 1553+153. —Jonathan Zrake, Discover Magazine, 5 Dec. 2024

Last year, observations of the subtle movements of pulsating stars known as a pulsar timing array revealed a background hum of gravitational waves in the universe—ripples in the fabric of space-time. —Jonathan O’Callaghan, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2024

The most obvious candidate, the team says, is a pulsar – a type of neutron star that produces beams of electromagnetic radiation from its poles. —Michael Irving, New Atlas, 29 Nov. 2024

The pulsar connected to the Guitar Nebula is named PSR B2224+65. —Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024

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