What’s the Difference Between a Pulsar and a Quasar?

Do you know the difference between a pulsar and a quasar?  Or how about the history of their discovery?

A pulsar (portmanteau of pulsating star) is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. This radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing toward the Earth, much the way a lighthouse can only be seen when the light is pointed in the direction of an observer, and is responsible for the pulsed appearance of emission. Neutron stars are very dense, and have short, regular rotational periods. This produces a very precise interval between pulses that range from roughly milliseconds to seconds for an individual pulsar.

Let’s check out what some quasars look like in the video on page 2

Next Page »



One Comment;

*

*

Top