Neutron Stars and PulsarsMarcus ShinboMelissa Onishi

Astronomy Pd. 318, April, 2011

What is a neutron star?

A neutron star is about 20 km in diameter

They have the mass of about 1.4 times our Sun

A neutron star possesses a surface gravitational field about 2 x 1011 times that of Earth.

What is a neutron star cont’d?

Neutron stars also have magnetic fields a million times stronger than the magnetic fields on earth.

Where is the Neutron Star in Star cycle?

Neutron stars are one of the possible ends for a star

They result from massive stars which have mass greater than 4 to 8 times that of our Sun

Where is the Neutron Star in the Star Cycle Cont’d

After these stars have finished burning their nuclear fuel, they undergo a supernova explosion

This explosion blows off the outer layers of a star into a beautiful supernova remnant.

Where do Neutron Stars appear?

Neutron stars may appear in supernova remnants, as isolated objects, or in binary systems

When a neutron star is in a binary system, astronomers are able to measure its mass.

PULSARS

What is a Pulsar?

Pulsars are rotating neutron stars

Pulsars appear to pulse because they rotate

Anatomy of a Pulsar

Discovery

Pulsars were discovered in late 1967 by graduate student Jocelyn Bell Burnell as radio sources that blink on and off at a constant frequency

Functions

Pulsars are spinning neutron stars that have jets of particles moving almost at the speed of light streaming out above their magnetic poles

Pulsar’s Magnetic field and its similarities to earth’s magnetic field

For a similar reason that "true north" and "magnetic north" are different on Earth, the magnetic and rotational axes of a pulsar are also misaligned.

Video TIME!!!!! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOfozgqMmO0

1:18-10:00

THANKS FOR LISTENING!!! :D

Works Cited

"Neutron Stars and Pulsars — Einstein Online." Welcome to Einstein Online - Relativity and More! — Einstein Online. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://www.einstein-online.info/elementary/blackHoles/pulsars>.

"Neutron Stars and Pulsars - Introduction." Imagine The Universe! Home Page. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/pulsars.html>.

"Neutron Stars and Pulsars." Test Page for Apache Installation. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. <http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/astro/pulsar.html>.