Pulsar
PSR B0053+47 (J0056+4756)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 0.472 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 | 472.0 ms |
| Period derivative | 3.3×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 2.3 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.3×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.2×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 18.1 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,123 pc (3.7 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1985 · gb2, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 0h 56m 25.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | +47° 56′ 11″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 42° S. North of latitude 42° 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 around 1638 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 65 million years.