PRECESSION OF THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE PULSAR PSR 1913+16

Data from observations at 1408 MHz are used to determine the parameters of the precession of the rotation axis of PSR 1913 + 16. The precession angle xi, i.e., the angle between the rotation axis and the orbital momentum vector, was found to be 25-degrees. This is consistent with the proposition that the binary system of two neutron stars that contains the pulsar was formed by the explosion of the precursor of the companion. Precession makes it possible to view the entire radio-emitting region in the magnetosphere of PSR 1913 + 16. At some time near the year 2020 the pulsar will become unobservable, but it is probable that because of similar precession, the companion pulsar will become visible.