1974: the discovery of the first binary pulsar

Understand

The 1974 discovery, by Russell A.

• Hulse and Joseph H.
• Taylor, of the first binary pulsar PSR B1913+16, opened up new possibilities for the study of relativistic gravity.
• PSR B1913+16, as well as several other binary pulsars, provided {\it direct} observational proofs that gravity propagates at the velocity of light and has a quadrupolar structure.