Pulsar
PSR B1753+52 (J1754+5201)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 2.39 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 | Draco |
| Period | 2.391 s |
| Period derivative | 1.6×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 24 million years |
| Magnetic field | 2.0×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 4.5×10³⁰ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 35.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 6,300 pc (20.5 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1985 · gb2, lotaas |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 17h 54m 22.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +52° 01′ 12″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 38° S. North of latitude 38° N 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 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 365 million years.