Pulsar
PSR B1944+22 (J1946+2244)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 1.33 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 | Vulpecula |
| Period | 1.334 s |
| Period derivative | 8.9×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 24 million years |
| Magnetic field | 1.1×10¹² G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.5×10³¹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 141.5 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 5,951 pc (19.4 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1975 · ar1, gbncc, palfa, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 46m 24.9s |
| Declination (J2000) | +22° 44′ 59″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 67° S. North of latitude 67° 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 19 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 344 million years.