Pulsar
PSR B1717-16 (J1720-1633)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.57 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 | Ophiuchus |
| Period | 1.566 s |
| Period derivative | 5.8×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 4.3 million years |
| Magnetic field | 3.1×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 6.0×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 45.1 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 993 pc (3.2 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1985 · gb3, htru_pks, misc, pks70, pkssw |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 20m 25.2s |
| Declination (J2000) | −16° 33′ 34″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 73° N. South of latitude 73° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in June, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out around 1214 BC. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 57 million years.