Pulsar
PSR B0950+08 (J0953+0755)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 0.253 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 | Leo |
| Period | 253.1 ms |
| Period derivative | 2.3×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 18 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.4×10¹¹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 5.6×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 3.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 261 pc (851.3 ly) |
| Discovery | 1968 · misc, ar4, gb4, lotaas, mol2, pkshl |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 9h 53m 09.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | +7° 55′ 36″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 82° S. It stands highest at midnight in February, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around the year 1175. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 15 million years.