Few people get to discover a new star.
They were found in 1965 when radio astronomers discovered several objects that emitted radio waves with clock-like precision. The pulsar and its companion are located near the familiar constellation of Cygnus. At this time of year, Cygnus is only briefly visible to Northern observers just after sunset. The sources were identified as rapidly rotating neutron stars with intense magnetic fields. Whereas radio pulsars have the regularity of a Swiss watch, accretion pulsars are like cheap alarm clocks that often gain and lose time - and go off when you least expect it.