PSR B1919+21

In 1967, a radio signal was detected using the Interplanetary Scintillation Array of the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory in Cambridge, UK, by Jocelyn Bell Burnell. The signal had a -second period (not in 1967, but in 1991) and 0.04-second pulsewidth. We did not really believe that we had picked up signals from another civilization, but obviously the idea had crossed our minds and we had no proof that it was an entirely natural radio emission. It is an interesting problem – if one thinks one may have detected life elsewhere in the universe[,] how does one announce the results responsibly? Who does one tell first? == Nobel Prize controversy ==

When Antony Hewish and Martin Ryle received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1974 for their work in radio astronomy and pulsars, Fred Hoyle, Hewish's fellow astronomer, argued that Jocelyn Bell Burnell should have been a co-recipient of the prize. In 2018, Bell won the $3-Million Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics for her work. == Cultural references ==

The English post-punk band Joy Division used an image of CP 1919's radio pulses on the cover of their 1979 debut album, Unknown Pleasures. German-born British composer Max Richter wrote a piece inspired by the discovery of CP1919 titled Journey (CP1919). The English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys used a sound based on the pulses in their music video for "Four Out of Five." == See also ==