Einstein@Home 'citizen scientists' discover a new pulsar in Arecibo telescope data

Idle computers are the astronomers' playground: three citizen scientists -- a German and an American couple -- have discovered a new radio pulsar hidden in data gathered by the Arecibo Observatory. This is the first deep-space discovery by Einstein@Home, which uses donated time from the home and office computers of 250,000 volunteers from 192 different countries. Astronomers consider the new pulsar especially interesting since it is likely a recycled pulsar that lost its companion.