Air Force Sergeant's Early Pulsar Discovery Stuns Astronomers

An Air Force staff sergeant stationed in Alaska may have discovered pulsars months before Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, who is credited with their discovery in 1967. Charles Schisler noticed a faint signal on his radar scope that reappeared throughout the summer, correctly deducing it to be a star. He even shared his findings with an astronomer, but the information was classified until the radar station was decommissioned. Bell-Burnell acknowledges that others may have also observed pulsars without realizing their significance. While Bell-Burnell and her supervisor were the first to identify coherent pulses as a radio pulsar, Schisler's observations would have provided valuable data to the scientific community.