View of a pulsar from an orbiting planet

3D ModelNoAI

A pulsar is a highly magnetized neutron star that rotates rapidly and emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles (for a close-up view, see the model at the following link). These highly energetic objects can host planetary systems. The first discovery of a planet orbing around a pulsar is dated 1992 by Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail who discivered a multi-planet system around the millisecond pulsar PSR 1257+12. This artistic view shows a pulsar as observed from a planet orbiting around it. In general the axis of rotation of the pulsar does not coincide with the axis of the magnetic dipole. Consequently, the intense radiation originating from the magnetic poles can be observed only when a beam of emission points toward the observer. This behavior similar to that of a lighthouse is at the origin of the pulsed appearance of emission. Credits: INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo.