Pulsar
PSR B0226+70 (J0231+7026)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.47 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 | 1.467 s |
| Period derivative | 3.1×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 7.5 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.2×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.9×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 46.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,755 pc (5.7 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1985 · gb2, gbncc, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 2h 31m 14.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +70° 26′ 34″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 20° S. North of latitude 20° 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 5,724 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 102 million years.