Jocelyn Bell Burnell Was Born

Jocelyn Bell Burnell was born in Belfast on July 15, 1943. Her interest in astronomy sparked early in that it was her father who constructed the Armagh Observatory near her home. She attended Mount School in York, Great Britain and then took her studies to the University of Glasgow in Scotland. In 1965, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science and went on the Cambridge University to study under Antony Hewish. Her first two years were spent aiding in the construction of a radio telescope that would find and record radio signals. In addition to this, Bell Burnell studied newly discovered quasars, which are galaxy-size clusters of stars or star formations that appear to as single stars because they are so far away from Earth. Bell Burnell was to study the pulses of these stars. During this study, and with the new telescope, Bell Burnell observed curious activity regarding these pulses. They were not typical to the pulses she had been observing. Her observation is described as "curious variations in signals which had been recorded at about midnight the night before" (Branca). These pulses were coming from a direction opposite our sun and appeared odd because "strong changes in signals from quasars occur as a result of the solar wind and thus are usually weak during the night" (Branca). When Bell Burnell told Hewish about the problem, he thought the new telescope might be at fault. After several tests, everyone had to realize something they had never considered before, which was the fact that "stars could emit radio signals" (Branca). Branca notes that Bell Burnell studies the activity precisely for about a month and established "the signals continued and remained fixed with respect to the stars -- which meant they were coming from somewhere other than the earth or the sun" (Branca). From August to November, she recorded very strong signals that occurred regularly.

The regularity of the pulses is what astounded and confused the research team under Hewish. Branca notes that they felt "obliged, at least initially, to consider the possibility that the source of the signals was a beacon from some extraterrestrial civilization" (Branca). Until further research was done, the team referred to the pulsars as LGM1, which stands for Little Green Men 1. With more time and study, Bell Burnell discovered more pulses in other parts of the sky. By January the following year, the research team felt confident that they had discovered something new in the heavens. In February, the team announced this discovery to the world and Ruskin says the announcement was "sensational" (Ruskin). The name pulsar comes from the word pulsing and star. It was a discovery that opened our eyes to the vastness of the universe and all that we do not know about it.

According to Steve Ruskin, Bell Burnell's discovery is significant for two reasons. First, "it was an incredible discovery for astronomers. It not only confirmed the existence of the theoretical neutron star, but it also enabled scientists to make advances in astrophysics, particularly in their theories of stellar collapse and the formation of black holes" (Ruskin). Ruskin adds that the discovery is important because pulsars are the "most regular 'clocks' in the universe" (Ruskin). Second, Bell Burnell's discovery "shed light on the important role of women in science" (Ruskin). Ruskin admits, "Perhaps more surprising than the fact that a new type of star was discovered was that a woman had discovered it" (Ruskin). Women in all fields of science owe some gratitude to Bell Burnell for beginning to break down barriers that existed between genders. Bell Burnell is still an inspiration to women and all astronomers. In 1991, she became a physics professor in Great Britain and, according to Ruskin, after her appointment, after her appointment, the number of women physics professors in the United Kingdom doubled" (Ruskin). While it is significant that Bell Burnell was a woman working in a man's world in the 60s, it should be overlooked that her contribution to astronomy is significant. Pulsars helped the world understand neuron stars.