Pulsar
PSR B0525+21 (J0528+2200)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 3.75 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 | Taurus |
| Period | 3.746 s |
| Period derivative | 4.0×10⁻¹⁴ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 1.5 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.2×10¹³ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.0×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 50.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 1,215 pc (4.0 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1968 · gb1, ar327, gb3, gb4, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 5h 28m 52.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | +22° 00′ 04″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 68° S. North of latitude 68° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in December, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1938 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 70 million years.