Images from the Pioneer plaque, including the pulsar map. NASA prepares to use pulsars as a kind of cosmic GPS in future crewed objectives into deep area, according to Nature. On the Pioneer plaque, each pulsar is marked with a line showing its range from Earth, as well as a series of hatch marks to signify how quick it spins.However, pulsars are uniquely directional; their flashes arent noticeable from every angle. If an alien civilization were to pick up the Pioneer plaque and read it like a map, “they would have to figure out what we see,” Berdygina informed Live Science, lest they miss a pulsar entirely. The hatch marks on its pulsar map show the rotational rate of each pulsar from a 1972 Earthling point of view.
On the Pioneer plaque, each pulsar is marked with a line showing its distance from Earth, as well as a series of hatch marks to denote how fast it spins.However, pulsars are distinctively directional; their flashes arent noticeable from every angle. If an alien civilization were to pick up the Pioneer plaque and read it like a map, “they would have to figure out what we see,” Berdygina told Live Science, lest they miss a pulsar entirely. The hatch marks on its pulsar map suggest the rotational rate of each pulsar from a 1972 Earthling point of view.