Observation of a Rapidly Pulsating Radio Source

Abstract

In July 1967, a large radio telescope operating at a frequency of 81·5 MHz was brought into use at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory. This instrument was designed to investigate the angular structure of compact radio sources by observing the scintillation caused by the irregular structure of the interplanetary medium¹. The initial survey includes the whole sky in the declination range - 08° < δ < 44° and this area is scanned once a week. A large fraction of the sky is thus under regular surveillance. Soon after the instrument was brought into operation it was noticed that signals which appeared at first to be weak sporadic interference were repeatedly observed at a fixed declination and right ascension; this result showed that the source could not be terrestrial in origin.