脉冲星的发现
科学神殿圣水的质疑
抑或是学霸/性别歧视？
1967年10月，剑桥大学卡文迪许实验室的安東尼·休伊什教授的研究生——24岁的乔丝琳·贝尔检测射电望远镜收到的信号时无意中发现了一些有规律的脉冲信号，它们的周期十分稳定，为1.337秒。起初她以为这是外星人“小绿人（LGM）”发来的信号，但在接下来不到半年的时间里，又陆陆续续发现了数个这样的脉冲信号。后来人们确认这是一类新的天体，并把它命名为脉冲星(Pulsar，又稱波霎)。脉冲星与类星体、宇宙微波背景辐射、星际有机分子一道，并称为20世纪60年代天文学“四大发现”。安東尼·休伊什教授本人也因脉冲星的发现而荣获1974年的诺贝尔物理学奖，尽管人们对贝尔小姐未能获奖而颇有微词。
Discovery
The first pulsar was observed in July 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish. Initially baffled as to the seemingly unnatural regularity of its emissions, they dubbed their discovery LGM-1, for "little green men" (a comical name for intelligent beings of extraterrestrial origin). Their pulsar was later dubbed CP 1919, and is now known by a number of designators including PSR 1919+21, PSR B1919+21 and PSR J1921+2153.
According to Martin Rees[citation needed], the hypothesis that pulsars were beacons from extraterrestrial civilizations was never taken very seriously. However, astrophysicist Peter A. Sturrock writes that the possibility of an extraterrestrial origin was "seriously considered ... They debated this possibility and decided that, if this proved to be correct, they could not make an announcement without checking with higher authorities. There was even some discussion about whether it might be in the best interests of mankind to destroy the evidence and forget it!" (Sturrock, 154)
Although CP 1919 emits in radio wavelengths, pulsars have, subsequently, been found to emit in the X-ray and/or gamma ray wavelengths.
The word pulsar is a contraction of "pulsating star", and first appeared in print in 1968:
“ "An entirely novel kind of star came to light on Aug. 6 last year and was referred to, by astronomers, as LGM (Little Green Men). Now it is thought to be a novel type between a white dwarf and a neutron [sic]. The name Pulsar is likely to be given to it. Dr. A. Hewish told me yesterday: "… I am sure that today every radio telescope is looking at the Pulsars." "[4] ”
The suggestion that pulsars were rotating neutron stars was put forth independently by Thomas Gold and Franco Pacini in 1968, and was soon proven beyond doubt by the discovery of a pulsar with a very short (33-millisecond) pulse period in the Crab nebula.
In 1974, Antony Hewish became the first astronomer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in physics. Considerable controversy is associated with the fact that Professor Hewish was awarded the prize while Bell, who made the initial discovery while she was his Ph.D student, was not.
资料摘自自由的百科全书，中文副标题是古月语加上。
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