Pulsar
PSR B1112+50 (J1115+5030)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.66 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 | Ursa Major |
| Period | 1.656 s |
| Period derivative | 2.5×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 11 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.1×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.2×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 9.2 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 923 pc (3.0 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1973 · gb1, gb2, gb4, gbncc, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 15m 38.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +50° 30′ 12″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 39° S. North of latitude 39° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 985 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 53 million years.