Op-Docs: How to unravel a mystery of the cosmos

Hint: pay attention to the details.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story July 31, 2021 Jocelyn Bell Burnell in 1967, the year she discovered pulsars. Hello from Op-Docs! Have you looked up at the night sky lately? Maybe you saw some stars, a planet, even a satellite. But the universe is also full of things you can't see with your naked eye — or even with a regular telescope. Take pulsars — fast-spinning neutron stars that emit beams of radiation, like cosmic lighthouses. Astronomers hadn't even imagined pulsars in 1967, when a young graduate student at Cambridge first observed them using a radio telescope. In the process, she changed astronomy and how space is understood forever. That student is Jocelyn Bell Burnell, but we'd forgive you for not knowing her name. It was left off the citation for the Nobel Prize won by her adviser, the astronomer Anthony Hewish. In Ben Proudfoot's new Op-Doc "The Silent Pulse of the Universe," Burnell shares the story of her discovery, and explains how the world she faced as a young scientist was not yet ready for a great astrophysicist who also happened to be a young woman. Watch "The Silent Pulse of the Universe." Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT If you have friends who might enjoy this newsletter, please forward this email — they can also sign up here. We'd love your feedback, too. Please email thoughts and suggestions to opdocs-newsletter@nytimes.com. Thanks for watching! — The Op-Docs Team Pitch your film to Op-Docs. Find out more about our series and submit here. MORE ALMOST FAMOUS The Queen of Basketball Lusia Harris led her team to three national championships, scored the first basket in women's Olympic history and was officially drafted by the New Orleans Jazz in 1977. By Ben Proudfoot Almost Famous: The Lost Astronaut In 1963, Ed Dwight Jr. was poised to be NASA's first African-American astronaut. Until suddenly he wasn't. By Ben Proudfoot Almost Famous: The Other Fab Four In the mid-1960s, four teenagers from Liverpool were changing the face of pop music. Their names were Mary, Sylvia, Pam and Val. By Ben Proudfoot Almost Famous: Kim I Am Kim Hill was a rising singer. She met a young rapper named will.i.am. The rest is history — or is it? By Ben Proudfoot Almost Famous: The King of Fish and Chips In the late 1960s, Haddon Salt built a fast food empire. Then Kentucky Fried Chicken came knocking. By Ben Proudfoot Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Subscribe Today New York Times Opinion curates a wide range of views, inviting rich discussion and debate that helps readers analyze the world. This work is made possible with the support of subscribers. Please consider subscribing to The Times with this special offer. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Op-Docs from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018