Fifty years ago, Jocelyn Bell discovered pulsars and changed our view of the universe

[LongTomH]

Fifty years ago Jocelyn Bell discovered pulsars and changed our view of the universe:

In mid-1967, when thousands of people were enjoying the summer of love, a young PhD student at the University of Cambridge in the UK was helping to build a telescope.

It was a poles-and-wires affair – what astronomers call a “dipole array”. It covered a bit less than two hectares, the area of 57 tennis courts.

By July it was built. The student, Jocelyn Bell (now Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell), became responsible for running it and analysing the data it churned out. The data came in the form of pen-on-paper chart records, more than 30 metres of them each day. Bell analysed them by eye.

What she found – a little bit of “scruff” on the chart records – has gone down in history.

Like most discoveries, it took place over time. But there was a turning point. On November 28, 1967, Bell and her supervisor, Antony Hewish, were able to capture a “fast recording” – that is, a detailed one – of one of the strange signals.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. I feel as dumb as trump is when I read sciency stuff. But I get a kick out of learning!

Thanks!

[PJMcK]

2. The Universe is amazing

The discovery of pulsars was an amazing achievement. Actually, I remember reading about this discovery when I was a kid!

There is so much we don't know about the Universe and each new discovery is exciting. Sooner or later we'll understand dark matter and dark energy. Those will be remarkable discoveries.

Thanks for posting the links, LongTomH.