Pulsar Lighthouse
Interactive 3D-style canvas simulation: Pulsar Lighthouse.
Spin frequency1.25 Hz
Pulse duty cycle16 %
Rotating dipoleR ≈ 10 km · M ≈ 1.4 M☉
Lighthouse model: radio beams sweep from both magnetic poles as the star spins. When a beam crosses the line of sight (observer angle ζ ≈ 65°) you get a pulse — see the scrolling light curve and live periodogram. At small χ the beams never cross Earth and the pulsar is silent for this observer.
Concepts in this lab
spin periodmagnetic axisbeaming
Connected topic
Open lessonPulsars
A complete introduction to Pulsars within Compact stars, linking observations, physical models, history and modern applications.