A supernova explosion can leave a fast rotating, highly magnetized neutron star (commonly referred to as pulsar) behind. The rotation and inclined magnetic field which is co-rotating with the pulsar, lead to the formation of a complex magnetosphere which is filled with plasma.
It is still not clear in all details how the radiation which is observed across the entire electromagnetic spectrum from radio wavelengths all the way up to gamma-rays is generated.
From observations we know that pulsed emission from subsequent rotations can look very different, providing evidence for the dynamic nature of the magnetosphere and reason to study the properties of single pulses. A small fraction of the single pulses observed at radio wavelengths is much more energetic than the observed regular emission.
Such pulses are referred to as giant pulses and exhibit interesting observational features such as extreme brightness temperatures, durations shorter than the time resolution of the best telescopes, complicated polarization properties and dynamic spectra.
Their properties suggest that the corresponding emission regions must be very small and their high energies give rise to the exciting possibility to see connections between giant pulses at radio wavelengths and pulsar emission at higher energies.
In this talk I will give an overview of the multiwavelength characteristics of the Crab pulsar which have lead to numerous observational studies and many still open questions.