  Pulsations were recently detected from the ultraluminous X-ray source X-2 in
M82. The newly discovered pulsar has been described as a common neutron star
with a 1 TG magnetic field that accretes above the Eddington rate and as a
magnetar-like pulsar with a 100 TG magnetic field that is above the quantum
limit. We show here that this X-ray source is not exotic in any sense. The
standard equations of accretion along field lines predict that, for the
measured spin period $P_S$ and spinup rate $\dot{P_S}$, the isotropic X-ray
luminosity $L_X$ must be near the Eddington limit (i.e., $L_{X}\approx
3.5\times 10^{38}$~erg~s$^{-1}$); and that the surface magnetic field $B$, that
does not depend on $P_S$, must be modest (i.e., $B_*\approx 1-10$ TG). The
observed higher luminosity can be explained by a moderate amount of geometric
beaming that occurs in our direction. Other ultraluminous X-ray sources may
also turn out to be common pulsars with similar physical characteristics, but
since the emission must occur at a favorable angle to the observer, we expect
that very few such pulsars will be discovered in the future.

High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena