On 24 October 2024, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, one of the most influential astrophysicists in history, will visit La Palma to receive her star on the Paseo de las Estrellas de la Ciencia in Santa Cruz de La Palma. This prestigious award is given to scientists whose discoveries have had a global impact, and in Bell's case, her work has transformed the way we understand the universe. In addition, Bell will give a public talk, open to all those passionate about astronomy and science, where she will share details about her career and discoveries. Jocelyn Bell: the pioneer of pulsar discovery Short biography of Jocelyn Bell Born in 1943 in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, Jocelyn Bell Burnell showed an endless curiosity for space from a young age. Her academic career led her to study physics at Glasgow University and then to Cambridge University, where, in 1967, as a PhD student, she made one of the most momentous discoveries in modern astronomy: pulsars. While analysing data from a radio telescope he helped build, Bell detected regular signals that repeated every 1.33 seconds. Initially it was thought that these signals might be of extraterrestrial origin. Later they were identified as coming from a rotating neutron star, what we know today as a pulsar. Although this discovery was revolutionary, the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1974 was awarded only to her supervisor, Antony Hewish. Of course this sparked an intense debate about the role of women in science. What are pulsars and why are they important? Pulsars are extremely dense neutron stars that rotate at high speed and emit beams of electromagnetic radiation from their magnetic poles. These beams appear to ‘pulsate’ from Earth, which gives the phenomenon its name. Pulsars not only offer a unique window into the end of the lives of
On 24 October 2024, Jocelyn Bell Burnell, one of the most influential astrophysicists in history, will visit La Palma to receive her star on the Paseo de las Estrellas de la Ciencia in Santa Cruz
