Just a quick refresher pulsars are a type of pulsating radio star that emits electromagnetic radiation.  And here is their clever new method to measure the mass of lonesome pulsars in areas with no gravitational objects to compare to:

Scientists led by the University of Southampton have found that they can measure the mass of an ultra-dense star known as a pulsar – a rapidly rotating neutron star only 25 kilometers (15 miles) in diameter but with more mass than the Sun – by measuring “glitches” in its spin. As pulsars rotate, sometimes at hundreds of times per second, they emit a beam of electromagnetic radiation. This can be detected on Earth when it sweeps in our direction, and they are known to have extremely stable rates of rotation.

Is their new technique correct?  And if so, what will it tell us about these lonely pulsars compared to those surrounded with more universal objects?

thanks to iflscience.com for the great info

thanks to NASA for the pic