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Searching for pulsars

Searching for pulsars. Radio astronomy at Green Bank. Background. Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars They are slightly more massive than our sun (1.4 Mo), but much smaller (10 to 20 km in diameter) Their discovery came as a surprise to astronomers in the 1960s

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Searching for pulsars

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  1. Searching for pulsars Radio astronomy at Green Bank

  2. Background • Pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars • They are slightly more massive than our sun (1.4 Mo), but much smaller (10 to 20 km in diameter) • Their discovery came as a surprise to astronomers in the 1960s • The fast rotation of pulsars means we observe them as a flickering signal, which is emitted with great precision

  3. You are now entering the quiet zone… • The location for a radio quiet zone was well chosen. • BEFORE all of our mobile devices become ubiquitous, the NRAO (National Radio Astronomical Observatory) was built in a remote part of West Virginia, far from interference. • It is so remote, and surrounded by state forests, that it is still “radio quiet”.

  4. What do students do with it? • They can join the PSC (Pulsar Search Collaboratory). • This program began when the GBT was under repair and immobile, but not useless • Students and teachers can attend a 1 week summer session/crash course in astronomy and pulsars • They learn about the physics of pulsars and how to use the database to evaluate pulsar candidates • Their model is similar to that of Galaxy Zoo, but with more training • About 20 new pulsars have been found by students since 2007!

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