Neutron star radiation from pulsars is thought to be primarily emitted from regions near their magnetic poles. If the magnetic poles do not coincide with the rotational axis of the neutron star, the emission beam will sweep the sky, and when seen from a distance, if the observer is somewhere in the path of the beam, it will appear as pulses of radiation coming from a fixed point in space (the so-called "lighthouse effect"). The fastest-spinning neutron star known is PSR J1748-2446ad, rotating at a rate of 716 times a second or 43,000 revolutions per minute, giving a linear speed at the
Relativistic beaming accreting compact object, but are thought to be merely a particular variety of AGN.) Beaming (short for relativistic beaming) affects the apparent brightness of a moving object just as a lighthouse affects the appearance of its light source: the light source appears dim or unseen to a ship except when the rotating lighthouse beacon is directed towards a ship, where it then appears very bright. This so-called lighthouse effect illustrates how important the direction of motion (relative to the observer) is in relativistic beaming: if a blob of gas emitting electromagnetic radiation is moving towards the observer then it will