Pulsar
PSR B1942+17 (J1944+1755)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 2.00 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 | 1.997 s |
| Period derivative | 7.3×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 43 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.2×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 3.6×10³⁰ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 175.0 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 4,876 pc (15.9 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1975 · ar1, ar4 |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 44m 31.8s |
| Declination (J2000) | +17° 55′ 42″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 72° S. North of latitude 72° 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 16 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 282 million years.