Pulsar
PSR B0138+59 (J0141+6009)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.22 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 | 1.223 s |
| Period derivative | 3.9×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 50 million years |
| Magnetic field | 7.0×10¹¹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 8.4×10³⁰ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 34.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 2,300 pc (7.5 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1972 · misc, gb3, gb4, gbncc, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 1h 41m 39.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +60° 09′ 32″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 30° S. North of latitude 30° 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 7,502 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 133 million years.