While they have spotted hundred pulsars through radio emmissions, only two were ever actually photographed until Seward and his colleagues in recent months located a third optical pulsar. Moreover, the recently located pulsar is easily observeable.

The pulser photograph is Seward's latest astronomical contribution. "He's really gotten the field off the ground. He's the recognized elder statesman," Murray says.

Using satellite compiled data dating back to 1979, the scientist has determined that supernovae explosions have produced massive quantities of chemicals such as sulpher, calcium, argon and silicon.

The death of a far-off star may seem of little consequence to life on Earth, but Seward points out that a supernova may have played a crucial role in the planet's evolutionary evolutionary history.

"The cosmic rays of a nearby supernova may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs," he says. But, he adds, there are currently no stars close enough to place the planet in danger.

Looking toward the future, supernovae study may lead to a whole new realm of physics, Seward says. For example, pulsars contain gravitational fields more powerful than can possibly be created on Earth.

"It's using space as a natural lab that lasts millions of years," says Paul Gorenstein of the Center for Astrophysics.

In fact, the gravitational field around a pulsar is so strong that "It would literally lear you apart before you could even get close. It would pulverize any solid object into dust before reaching the surface," Seward says