In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell spotted this cosmic lighthouse pulsing away with clockwork precision, initially dubbed "LGM-1" because, well, Little Green Men seemed as good an explanation as any. Rather than aliens, she'd discovered astronomy's first pulsar: a rapidly spinning neutron star beaming regular radio signals into space. This stellar remnant spins with almost perfect precision, completing one rotation every 1.337 seconds – making it nature's most reliable timekeeper.

The discovery caused quite a stir in the scientific community, but its real claim to fame came later when its distinctive radio signal pattern was immortalised on Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" album cover. Now known as PSR B1919+21, this pulsar holds the unique distinction as the only astronomical object with its own merchandise line.