Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, DBE, FRS, FRAS  kindly allowed yesterday’s free public lecture to be recorded, and the podcast is now available for you to listen to:

“In Pursuit of Pulsars”

Dame Bell Burnell outlines the fundamentals of the lifespan of a star from formation to death, and then, from her unique perspective as the discoverer of pulsars, explains their content, structure and function. Some of the highlights of this fascinating lecture include:

• Discussion about the Large Megellanic Cloud, a galaxy close to our own galaxy (the Milky Way), which is rich in gas and dust, and is home to the Tarantula Nebula, the most active star-forming region in the Local Group of galaxies. Pulsars form as these stars explode and die, leaving only their super-compressed cores comprised mainly of neutrons.

• Pulsars are highly magnetised, rotating neutron stars. Due to their phenomenal mass, gravitational effects are exerted upon visible light, meaning the view from the surface of a neutron star would extend beyond the horizon!

• The story of a lawsuit filed by the Pulsar watch company against radio astronomers for using the term “pulsar” in relation to their work. Their case was unsuccessful.