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Jocelyn Bell Burnell Facts & Worksheets

Jocelyn Bell Burnell is a British astronomer and astrophysicist who contributed to building a large radio telescope and discovered pulsars.

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Jocelyn Bell Burnell is a British astronomer and astrophysicist who contributed to building a large radio telescope and discovered pulsars. It provided the first-ever direct evidence for the existence of a rapidly spinning neutron star. Bell Burnell also established herself as an esteemed leader in her field.

See the fact file below for more information on the Jocelyn Bell Burnell or alternatively, you can download our 25-page Jocelyn Bell Burnell worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BIOGRAPHY

  • Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on July 15, 1943. Her parents G. Philip Bell and M. Allison Bell were educated Quakers who encouraged Jocelyn to have an early interest in science.
  • Bell Burnell started to read books and visit a nearby observatory that developed her interest in the field. However, despite being a person who was very much eager to learn, she encountered difficulties with her studies. She failed an exam that intended to measure Bell Burnell’s readiness for higher education.
  • With this, her parents decided to enroll Bell Burnell in a Quaker boarding school in England. She quickly established herself in her science class.
  • After proving that she had a high aptitude for learning, Bell Burnell decided to attend the University of Glasgow, where she achieved her bachelor’s degree in physics.

LITTLE GREEN MEN

  • At the Cambridge University, Bell Burnell started her graduate studies in radio astronomy in 1965. She was one of the several research assistants and students who worked under Antony Hewish, her thesis advisor, and Martin Ryle.
  • Over the two years of researching and working, Bell Burnell helped construct a massive radio telescope designed to monitor quasars.
  • In 1967, the radio telescope was fully operational, and Bell Burnell was assigned to analyze the data it produced.
  • Bell Burnell dedicated her time to analyzing the data. After several hours poring over the charts, she noticed some anomalies that did not match with the quasars’ patterns.
  • Bell Burnell quickly called this to Hewish’s attention. With these, Hewish’s team systematically eliminated all possible radio pulses sources over the following months. They labeled these radio pulses as ‘Little Green Men’.
  • Later on, the team realized that neutron stars, fast-spinning collapsed stars, made the radio pulsars.

PULSARS AND THE NOBEL PRIZE CONTROVERSY

  • The radio pulses Bell Burnell discovered were fast-spinning cores of collapsed stars that had powerful magnetic fields that produced a stream of radiation that flashed across the sky like a rotating beam of a lighthouse.
  • These objects were called pulsars. Scientifically defined, a pulsar is a neutron star that emits beams of radiation that travel through Earth’s line of sight. The pulses produced by it are due to the misalignment of the neutron star’s rotation on its axis and its magnetic axis.
  • In February 1968, their findings were published in the Nature that caused several sensations. Several people were fascinated that a woman scientist discovered one of the most important astronomical findings of the 20th century.
  • The press quickly took up the story, and Bell Burnell was showered with lots of attention.
  • During the same year, Bell Burnell earned her PhD in radio astronomy at Cambridge University.
  • In 1974, a Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded for the discovery. However, only Hewish and Ryle received the Nobel Prize. Several people in the scientific community raised their objections and stated that Bell Burnell should also be recognized for this discovery.
  • They said that Bell Burnell was unfairly ignored. However, she rejected this notion and stated that the prize was properly awarded because she was still a graduate student at that time. However, she also acknowledged that her gender might have been a factor of why she was not recognized and included on the award.

LIFE ON THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM

  • Even though Bell Burnell did not win the Nobel Prize, her depth of knowledge in radio astronomy and electromagnetic spectrum earned her lifetime respect in the scientific community.
  • Bell Burnell taught and studied gamma-ray astronomy at the University of Southampton after receiving her doctorate from Cambridge University. For the following eight years, Bell Burnell worked as a professor at the University College of London, focusing on x-ray astronomy.
  • At the same time, she started her affiliation with the Open University and later worked as a physics professor while studying neurons and binary stars. Bell Burnell also researched infrared astronomy at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh.
  • From 2001 to 2004, Bell Burnell was the Dean of Science at the University of Bath. During that time, she worked as a visiting professor at universities such as Princeton University and Oxford University.

HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

  • Bell Burnell achieved several awards and honors. These include Commander and Dame of the Order of the British Empire in 1999 and 2007, respectively. In 1978, she won the Oppenheimer prize, the Herschel Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society in 1989, and served as the society president from 2002 to 2004.
  • From 2008 to 2010, Bell Burnell was the president of the Institute of Physics and served as the Royal Society of Edinburgh president since 2014.

PUBLISHED BOOKS

  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell was also an author. She published books about her discoveries in the field of astronomy. These include ‘An Introduction to the Sun and Stars’ in 2004, ‘Broken for Life’ in 1989, and ‘A Quaker Astronomer Reflects: Can a Scientist Also Be Religious?’ in 2013.

Jocelyn Bell Burnell Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Jocelyn Bell Burnell across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Jocelyn Bell Burnell worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Jocelyn Bell Burnell who is a British astronomer and astrophysicist who contributed to building a large radio telescope and discovered pulsars. It provided the first-ever direct evidence for the existence of a rapidly spinning neutron star. Bell Burnell also established herself as an esteemed leader in her field.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Jocelyn Bell Burnell Facts
  • Writing Bell Burnell’s Profile
  • Timeline of the Astronomer
  • Questions of the Prestige
  • Parts of a Pulsar
  • Filling the Space
  • All About Astronomy
  • Jumbled Stars
  • Nobel Prize Controversy
  • Bell Burnell’s Achievements
  • Words of the Great Woman

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