Pulsar
PSR B1534+12 (J1537+1155)
Radio pulsar · binary system
A neutron star spinning once every 0.038 seconds; the beams from its magnetic poles sweep across Earth on every turn. It shares a 10.10 h orbit with a neutron star. Period, spin-down, distance and orbit come from the ATNF Pulsar Catalogue; the beam geometry is illustrative.
| Type | Pulsar |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Serpens |
| Period | 37.904 ms (26 Hz) |
| Period derivative | 2.4×10⁻¹⁸ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 248 million years |
| Magnetic field | 9.7×10⁹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.8×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 11.6 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 935 pc (3.0 thousand ly) |
| Companion | neutron star (estimated), ~1.62 M☉ |
| Orbital period | 10.10 h |
| Eccentricity | 0.2737 |
| Discovery | 1991 · ar4, ar327, gb4, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 15h 37m 10.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | +11° 55′ 56″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 78° S. North of latitude 78° N 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 1025 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 54 million years.