The Sound of the Black Widow Pulsar

The Black Widow pulsar (PSR B1957 20) rotates at a frequency of 622.1 Hz, producing a radio signal can be heard as an Eb note when converted into sound. The pulsar gets its name from the fact that it is slowly destroying its partner, using its wind to blow material off the surface of the brown dwarf. This creates a clumpy comet-like tail of plasma that passes between the pulsar and Earth every 9.2 hours. The tail acts like a giant magnifying lens (or amplifier) causing the series of irregular flickers you can hear in the pulsar’s signal. Is the brown dwarf trying to signal .? In May 2018, astronomers used this magnifying lens to see two regions of intense radiation that are 20 km apart from 6500 light years away, one of the highest resolution observations in the history of astronomy. The distortions caused by the lens are similar to those seen in repeating FRBs (fast radio bursts) and may be an important clue in uncovering the origin of the mysterious bursts.