Navigating the universe with pulses from neutron stars.
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Pixabay image
Neuron stars are incredibly dense post-collapse stars that often spin rapidly and release radio pulses. Each neutron star may only have a diameter of around 12-miles, and each teaspoon of the star itself may weigh many tons. When a star collapses into a neuron star, other particles aside from neutrons may be ejected, and the atoms become increasingly close together and dense due to the extreme forces at collapse after the star has run out of fuel.
Starships need to navigate the universe, and like GPS requires set points on Earth, spinning pulsars can provide points of reference. Since the neturon stars often spin at incredibly predictible rates, a starships could pinpoint its location in the future based upon radio waves in it's immediate area.
As we continue to develop our propulsion technology, we need to keep astronaut safety and navigation at the forefront of our collective minds and mission. Propulsion is becoming more advanced, and in the future we may find missions lost in space without the ability to accurately locate a course back to Earth. Using consistently spinning neutron stars as set points in the map of the universe makes sense, and these can help us navigate and map courses in space similar to shipping routes on Earth.