Pulsar
PSR B0656+14 (J0659+1414)
Radio pulsar · in the remnant Monogem Ring
A neutron star spinning once every 0.385 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 | Gemini |
| Period | 384.9 ms |
| Period derivative | 5.5×10⁻¹⁴ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 111 thousand years |
| Magnetic field | 4.7×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.8×10³⁴ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 14.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 286 pc (932.8 ly) |
| Location | in the remnant Monogem Ring |
| Discovery | 1978 · mol2, FermiBlind, lotaas, misc, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 6h 59m 48.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | +14° 14′ 19″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 76° S. North of latitude 76° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in January, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1093. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 17 million years.