The connection between x-ray binaries and millisecond pulsars
Monday, September 29, 2014 - 09:20
in Astronomy & Space
A millisecond pulsar is a neutron star that is rotating about 600 to 700 times a second. Because of their strong magnetic fields, they produce strong beams of radio energy from the regions of their magnetic poles, and as they rotate these beams can point in our direction. As a result, we observe these neutron stars as radio bursts that pulse every 1 – 10 milliseconds. Hence their name.