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Pulsars offer a way to test ideas about stellar evolution and theories like General Relativity; they are also ideal beacons for deep-space navigation, and have even been used to potentially point alien civilizations back to Earth (via the Pioneer 10 plaque ). Highly magnetized neutron stars, called magnetars, are currently the best explanation for the origin of mysterious fast radio bursts that permeate astronomy news today.You can learn more about these amazing objects and their discovery in our exclusive online bonus feature: Pulsars at 50: Still going strong , which appeared in our May 2017 issue. In honor of the anniversary, we’ve also pulled together several additional online news and bonus features to help you unlock the mysteries of our universe’s most precise and long-lasting radio beacons.Want to know what a pulsar sounds like? The Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics has several recordings of the radio signals from famous pulsars available online.Take a look at the many subclasses of pulsars, each of which helps astronomers better understand how stars live and die.The first extrasolar planets were found not circling a Sun-like star, but orbiting a stellar remnanta pulsar.What have pulsars taught astronomers about how the universe works? A lot!One of the most recent and most exciting findings involving pulsars lends credence to the idea that dark matter is composed of particles.What do you do in deep space without GPS? NASA is looking to use pulsar signals to navigate.Pulsars could help astronomers learn more about gravitational waves and more accurately test Einstein's theories.Pulsars are spinning neutron stars ... but new evidence suggests white dwarfs can act as pulsars, too.Magnetars are an extreme type of neutron star, and we think they're responsible for fast radio bursts.Pulsars in binary systems may seal the fate of the stars they're paired with.This famous Messier object houses a pulsar with something unique: a well-known history.Why do we see a flash instead of a constant signal from a millisecond pulsar, which spins 20-700 times per second? Is that not fast enough to maintain a steady beam of light?Would you like to learn more? Check out our free downloadable eBook: Exotic objects: Black holes, pulsars, and more