A highly magnetized rotating neutron star

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Artistic view of a pulsar, a highly magnetized compact star that rotates rapidly and emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles. The compact star is a neutron star the collapsed core of a massive supergiant star that wnt supernova. In general the axis of rotation of the pulsar does not coincide with the axis of the magnetic dipole (described by the purple lines in the model). Consequently, the radiation originating from the magnetic poles (the collimated light purple-blue beams) can be observed only when a beam of emission points toward the observer. This behavior, similar to that of a lighthouse, is at the origin of the pulsed appearance of emission.

Credits: INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Palermo.