CLUSTERING OF PULSARS ALONG GALACTIC PLANE

WE recently described1 the discovery of seven pulsars found in a search at the Molonglo Radio Observatory using the 408 MHz radio telescope. A conclusion reached on the basis of this search was that pulsars are galactic objects associated with the disk or the spiral arms, but with a somewhat anomalous distribution. A zone of avoidance along the inner regions of the galactic plane was suggested, based on the argument that dispersion in the thin layer of an ionized medium closely confined to the galactic plane results in the loss of the distant pulsars. This communication describes the discovery of further pulsars which follow the same general pattern of galactic distribution. © 1969 Nature Publishing Group.