Pulsar
PSR B0320+39 (J0323+3944)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 3.03 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 | Perseus |
| Period | 3.032 s |
| Period derivative | 6.4×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 76 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.4×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 9.0×10²⁹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 26.2 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 940 pc (3.1 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1978 · gb1, gb2, gb4, gbncc, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 3h 23m 26.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | +39° 44′ 52″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 50° S. North of latitude 50° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in November, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1041 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 54 million years.