Pulsar
PSR B2028+22 (J2030+2228)
Radio pulsar
A neutron star spinning once every 0.631 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 | 630.5 ms |
| Period derivative | 8.9×10⁻¹⁶ s/s |
| Characteristic age | 11 million years |
| Magnetic field | 7.6×10¹¹ G |
| Spin-down luminosity | 1.4×10³² erg/s |
| Dispersion measure | 71.9 pc/cm³ |
| Distance | 6,393 pc (20.9 thousand ly) |
| Discovery | 1975 · ar1, ar2, gbncc, lotaas, fast_gpps |
| Source | ATNF Pulsar Catalogue |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 20h 30m 40.4s |
| Declination (J2000) | +22° 28′ 22″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Northern Hemisphere and south to latitude 68° S. North of latitude 68° 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 21 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 370 million years.