SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/astro-pulsars-jocelyn-bell

Who discovered pulsars in 1967 while a graduate student?

Jocelyn Bell, at Cambridge University.

Start playing free

  1. Annie Cannon
  2. Jocelyn Bell ✔
  3. Vera Rubin

Why: Studying radio sources, Jocelyn Bell found rapid, sharp, extremely regular radio pulses coming from the constellation Vulpecula. They turned out to come from spinning neutron stars.

Huh, didn't know that: Bell first described the strange signal in her data as a bit of scruff.

The dad joke
Pulsars keep perfect time. They never miss a beat.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: Jocelyn Bell. Studying radio sources, Jocelyn Bell found rapid, sharp, extremely regular radio pulses coming from the constellation Vulpecula. They turned out to come from spinning neutron stars.

  1. Astronomy 2e, 23.4 Pulsars and the Discovery of Neutron Stars openstax.org/books/astronomy-2e/pages/23-4-pulsars-and-the-discovery-of-neutron-stars
    Bell discovered pulsars in 1967 as a graduate student.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

Astronomy & SpaceWho discovered infrared light in 1800 by putting a thermometer past the red end of a spectrum?Astronomy & SpaceWho built the first successful reflecting telescope, in 1668?Astronomy & SpaceHow big is the largest working refracting telescope, at Yerkes Observatory?

That's stuff everyone should know.