Akmal Shaik

An Overview of Pulsars and XNAV: Modern Astrophysics' Interstellar GPS

Started June 27, 2024

Abstract or project description

Ever since their discovery in 1967, by Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Pulsars have been at the forefront of Astrophysics. These dense, magnetized, spinning bodies exist all over the observable universe and have a plethora of modern uses, which we will briefly cover. We will begin with an introduction of what a pulsar is, followed by its origins: the death of a star between 8-30 times the mass of our sun. After this, we will describe the various applications for these neutron stars. Finally, the latter of this paper will then focus on delving into how Pulsars have been and are being used as an astronomical GPS, finally concluding with an overview of the modern advances in this promising technology. The entirety of this paper will be accompanied by variety of data and observations showcasing the theory and the theory in practice.