Pulsar
PSR B1118-79 (J1119-7936)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 2.28 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 | Chamaeleon |
| Period | 2.281 s |
| Period derivative | 3.7×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 9.8 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.9×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.2×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 26.4 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 771 pc (2.5 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1978 · mol2, misc |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 11h 19m 40.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −79° 36′ 30″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 10° N. South of latitude 10° S it never sets.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 490 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 45 million years.