Pulsar planet

A planet orbiting a pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star whose beams of radiation sweep across space. Pulsar planets are detected chiefly through changes in the arrival times of those pulses.

Pulsar timing: A method that measures precise pulse arrival times from pulsars to study their rotation, motion, and surroundings. Orbital motion makes a pulsar’s pulses arrive slightly earlier or later in a repeating pattern.
PSR B1257+12: A millisecond pulsar with a system of confirmed planets, including the first planets discovered beyond the Solar System. Its planets established pulsar timing as a way to find worlds around stellar remnants.
PSR B1257+12 A: A low-mass planet orbiting PSR B1257+12, with an orbital period of about 25 days. It is the innermost confirmed planet in the system that began the study of pulsar planets.
Fallback disk: A disk of stellar material that remains in orbit after a supernova or compact-object formation event. Material left around a newborn pulsar could gather into planets after the explosion.
Doppler effect: A change in observed frequency or wavelength caused by relative motion between a source and an observer. A pulsar’s motion around a planet shifts pulse arrival times through changing light-travel distance.
Alexander Wolszczan: A Polish-American astronomer who co-discovered the first confirmed exoplanets around the pulsar PSR B1257+12. His timing observations provided the evidence for the landmark pulsar-planet discovery.
PSR B1257+12 B: A planet orbiting PSR B1257+12 with a mass close to four Earth masses. Its measurable gravitational interaction with planet C helped confirm the system’s planetary interpretation.
Planetary system formation: The processes by which gas, dust, and smaller bodies assemble into planets orbiting a central object. Pulsar planets test whether familiar planet-building processes can operate around stellar remnants.
Neutron star: An extremely dense stellar remnant composed mostly of neutrons, formed when a massive star collapses. A pulsar planet orbits this compact stellar remnant rather than an ordinary star.
Dale Frail: An astronomer who co-discovered planets around PSR B1257+12 with Alexander Wolszczan. Frail shared the discovery that first demonstrated planets orbiting a pulsar.

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