Pulsar
PSR B0609+37 (J0612+3721)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 0.298 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 | Auriga |
| Period | 298.0 ms |
| Period derivative | 5.9×10⁻¹⁷ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 79 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.4×10¹¹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 8.9×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 27.2 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 534 pc (1.7 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1985 · gb3, ar327, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 12m 48.7s |
| Declination (J2000) | +37° 21′ 37″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 53° S. North of latitude 53° 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 the year 284. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 31 million years.