Pulsar
PSR B0628-28 (J0630-2834)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.24 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 | Canis Major |
| Period | 1.244 s |
| Period derivative | 7.1×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 2.8 million years |
| Magnetic field | 3.0×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.5×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 34.4 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 320 pc (1.0 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1969 · mol1, misc, mol2, pks70, pkshl |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 30m 49.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −28° 34′ 43″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 61° N. South of latitude 61° S 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 982. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 19 million years.