The Lighthouse Choir

Twelve pulsars, each ticking at its true spin rate.

observatory standby

master

The test lighthouse

Where does rhythm become pitch? Drag from 0.5 Hz to 1,000 Hz. Around 25–35 Hz the ticks fuse into a tone. (Your eyes hold out longer: flashes only blur into steady light at about 50–90 Hz.)

3.1 Hz

a slow, countable beat

Published rotation periods; ticks synthesized, timing real. Beams shown slower than reality where noted.

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