Pulsar
A rapidly rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation. Pulsars are detectable from Earth as regular pulsations.
Glossary
List of terms to explain or deepen
Find here all the scientific terms and important concepts to better understand the universe, pulsars and the discoveries of Jocelyn Bell Burnell.
Discover her storyNeutron star
An extremely dense remnant of a massive star that has exploded as a supernova. A neutron star typically has the mass of the Sun compressed in a sphere about 20 km in diameter.
Supernova
Explosion of a star at the end of its life. Supernovae are among the most energetic events in the universe and can shine as brightly as an entire galaxy.
General relativity
Theory of gravitation formulated by Albert Einstein in 1915. It describes gravity as a deformation of spacetime caused by the presence of mass and energy.
Time dilation
A phenomenon predicted by relativity where time flows more slowly in an intense gravitational field or at speeds close to the speed of light.
Wormhole
A hypothetical passage through spacetime that could create shortcuts between two distant points in the universe. Also called an Einstein-Rosen bridge.
Accretion disk
A structure formed by matter orbiting around a massive object such as a black hole. Friction in the disk heats the matter which then emits intense radiation.
Gravitational lensing
A phenomenon in which light is bent when it passes near a massive object, creating distorted or multiple images of distant objects.
Electromagnetic radiation
A form of energy that propagates through space as waves. Includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays.
Matilda effect
A systematic bias in minimizing or denying the contributions of female scientists to research. Named after Matilda Joslyn Gage, who documented this phenomenon.
Radio astronomy
A branch of astronomy that studies celestial objects through the radio waves they emit. The technique used by Jocelyn Bell to discover pulsars.
Other Matildas