Pulsar
PSR B1926+18 (J1929+1844)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.22 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 | Sagitta |
| Period | 1.220 s |
| Period derivative | 2.4×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 8.2 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.7×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 5.1×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 112.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 3,317 pc (10.8 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1975 · ar1, lotaas, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 29m 16.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | +18° 44′ 59″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 71° S. North of latitude 71° N it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in July, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 11 thousand years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 192 million years.