Pulsar
PSR B1943+18 (J1945+1834)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.07 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 | 1.069 s |
| Period derivative | 2.4×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 70 million years |
| Magnetic field | 5.2×10¹¹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 7.8×10³⁰ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 217.7 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 7,088 pc (23.1 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1975 · ar1, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 45m 36.1s |
| Declination (J2000) | +18° 34′ 20″ |
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 23 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 410 million years.