Geodetic Precession in Pulsar J1906+0746

Animation of the observed pulsar, J1906 0746, and the effect of geodetic precession on its visibility from Earth. Two neutron stars orbit one another. The star visible as a pulsar is shown with rotating beams. The counter in the top right counts up the years through which the pulsar was detected. From 1998 to about 2005, beams for both poles hit Earth. After 2005 only the main beam hits Earth. From about 2014 on, both beams miss Earth, and because of that, the pulsar is now all but invisible. Time scale and