Pulsar
PSR B1530-53 (J1534-5334)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.37 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 | Norma |
| Period | 1.369 s |
| Period derivative | 1.4×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 15 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.4×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 2.2×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 25.3 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 816 pc (2.7 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1969 · mol1, htru_pks, misc, mol2, pks1, pks70, pksmb |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 15h 34m 08.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | −53° 34′ 20″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 36° N. South of latitude 36° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in May, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 636 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 47 million years.