Pulsars are a kind of neutron star, a city-sized remnant of a supernova. Neutron stars contain more mass than our Sun in a ball less than 25 km across.; they’re the densest matter we can see directly. They possess strong magnetic fields, produce streams of energetic particles, and spin quickly.
This visualization shows 294 gamma-ray pulsars, first plotted on an image of the sky as seen from Earth and then transitioning to a view from above the galaxy. The symbols identify different types of pulsars. Young pulsars appear to blink in real time—except for the Crab because its rate is only slightly lower than the video frame rate. Millisecond pulsars appear steady because their pulse rate too quickly to see.
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is credited with the discovery of 294 of these pulsars. The Crab, Vela, and Geminga were among the 11 gamma-ray pulsars known before Fermi launched. Other notable objects are also highlighted. Distances are shown in light-years.
Video Credit: NASA