Overview

The discovery of pulsars in 1967 can be said to have been almost accidental. Pulsars were discovered by Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1934-), then a graduate student at the University of Cambridge who was using her advisor's radio telescope to search for quasars. Her discovery had considerable impact, both for astronomers in general and women scientists in particular. Since their discovery, pulsars have been recognized by astronomers as crucial to understanding the nature of stars, especially exotic stars like black holes. For women scientists, Bell Burnell's discovery was to be an inspiration. Rarely had a female scientist gained so much fame for a scientific discovery. And although she did not share the Nobel Prize in Physics given to her advisor for the discovery of pulsars, she has since come to be recognized for something perhaps more significant: for helping to pave the way...