Pulsar
PSR B1929+10 (J1932+1059)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 0.227 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 | Aquila |
| Period | 226.5 ms |
| Period derivative | 1.2×10⁻¹⁵ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 3.1 million years |
| Magnetic field | 5.2×10¹¹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.9×10³³ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 3.2 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 310 pc (1.0 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1968 · mol1, ar1, ar2, ar3, ar327, ar4, gb4, jb1, lotaas, misc, mol2, pksmb, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 32m 14.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +10° 59′ 33″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 79° S. North of latitude 79° 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 around the year 1015. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 18 million years.