Pulsar
PSR B0052+51 (J0055+5117)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 2.12 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Cassiopeia |
| Period | 2.115 s |
| Period derivative | 9.5×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.5 million years |
| Magnetic field | 4.6×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 4.0×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 44.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 2,800 pc (9.1 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1985 · gb2, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 0h 55m 45.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +51° 17′ 25″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 39° S. North of latitude 39° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in October, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 9,132 years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 162 million years.