Pulsar
PSR B1353-62 (J1356-6230)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 0.456 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 | 455.8 ms |
| Dispersion measure | 416.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 6,499 pc (21.2 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1973 · misc, htru_pks, pks1, pksmb |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 13h 56m 55.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | −62° 30′ 08″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 27° N. South of latitude 27° 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 21 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 376 million years.