A neutron star in a binary system that emits regular pulses of X-ray radiation as it accretes matter from a companion star, with the X-rays beamed along the neutron star's magnetic poles. The pulses occur as the neutron star rotates and sweeps its X-ray beams across our line of sight.
Combines 'X-ray' (named by Wilhelm Röntgen for unknown radiation) with 'pulsar' (from 'pulsating radio star'). X-ray pulsars were discovered in the 1970s when X-ray astronomy satellites detected regular pulsations from binary star systems, revealing a new class of neutron star.
X-ray pulsars are cosmic lighthouses powered by stellar cannibalism! These neutron stars are literally eating their companion stars, pulling matter onto their surfaces where it crashes down with such violence that it glows in X-rays hotter than millions of degrees. The regular pulses act like a cosmic metronome, with some pulsars keeping time more accurately than the best atomic clocks, making them natural laboratories for testing extreme physics.
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