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Pulsars

Pulsars spin fast for the same reason ice skaters pull in their arms to spin. This is conservation of angular momentum. Pulsars are formed with a certain amount of angular momentum. As gravity causes them to shrink (and thus have a smaller radius) they must spin faster in order to conserve angular momentum.

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Imagine the Universe is a service of the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), Dr. Francis Marshall (Acting Director), within the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

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Project Leader: Dr. Jim Lochner
Curator:Meredith Gibb
Responsible NASA Official:Phil Newman
All material on this site has been created and updated between 1997-2008.
Last Updated: Monday, 27-Sep-2004 11:26:11 EDT

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