Figure 12-21A Rotating, Magnetized Neutron Star Calculations reveal that many neutron stars rotate rapidly and possess powerful magnetic fields. Charged particles are accelerated near a neutron star’s magnetic poles and produce two oppositely directed beams of radiation. As the star rotates (going from a to b is half a rotation period), the beams sweep around the sky. If Earth happens to lie in the path of a beam (a but not b), we see the neutron star as a pulsar.