Abstract
Deep R band CCD photographs of the region surrounding the binary pulsar PSR1913 + 16 have been obtained with the 4-m telescope of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Using an accurate astrometric solution, we find a star with MR = 20.9 at the precise coordinates of the pulsar. Possible interpretations of this result, including the unlikely (<3%) possibility that it is an accidental superposition of a field star, are discussed. If this object is the physical companion to the pulsar, it is probably a helium star.
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Crane, P., Nelson, J. & Tyson, J. Possible optical observation of the companion star to the binary pulsar PSR1913 + 16. Nature 280, 367–370 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1038/280367a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/280367a0
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