Pulsar
PSR B1952+29 (J1954+2923)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 0.427 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 | Cygnus |
| Period | 426.7 ms |
| Period derivative | 1.7×10⁻¹⁸ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 4.0 billion years |
| Magnetic field | 2.7×10¹⁰ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 8.7×10²⁹ erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 7.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 536 pc (1.7 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1970 · jb1, ar327, gb3, jb2, lotaas, palfa, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 19h 54m 22.5s |
| Declination (J2000) | +29° 23′ 16″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 61° S. North of latitude 61° 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 278. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 31 million years.