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

This is the concept that gravitational waves passing between us and a pulsar could disrupt the timing of a pulsar’s radio pulses. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 25 Dec. 2024

Researchers can look for gaps and anomalies in the pattern of radio waves emitted from these spinning pulsars to detect gravitational waves. —Jonathan Zrake, Discover Magazine, 5 Dec. 2024

As more LPTs turned up, pulsars seemed unlikely to be responsible. —Bydaniel Clery, science.org, 4 Dec. 2024

This conclusion was reached thanks to new data about the accelerations of nearby pulsars—rapidly spinning neutron stars that emit beams of radiation that sweep out through space light the beacon of a lighthouse. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 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