A pulsar is generally believed to be a rapidly rotating neutron star that emits pulses of radiation (such as x-rays and radio waves) at known regular intervals. A millisecond pulsar is one with a rotational period in the range of 1-10 milliseconds. When a pulsar is created in a supernova, is is born spinning, but slows down over millions of years. However, if the pulsar is in a binary system, the influx of material into its accretion disk may help the pulsar spin up to the millisecond range.
This animation zooms into a neutron star and its accretion disk to show a millisecond pulsar in close-up.
This animation shows a what a neutron star experiencing a starquake might look like. Starquakes crack the surface crust of the star and briefly increase its spin rate.
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