Pulsar
PSR B1334-61 (J1338-6204)
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 | Centaurus |
| Period | 1.239 s |
| Period derivative | 1.4×10⁻¹⁴ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 1.4 million years |
| Magnetic field | 4.2×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.9×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 643.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 12,370 pc (40.3 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1992 · pks1, htru_pks, misc, pksmb |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 13h 38m 09.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −62° 04′ 18″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 28° N. South of latitude 28° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 40 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 716 million years.